Alternatives to TV, Phone, Brodband packages

leannede3

My 84 yr old mum doesn't need all the fancy channels that come with today's TV packages, she just wants a basic TV & phone package.  Also, the only reason for broadband is her smart meter - thinking of going back to no smart meter if the figures add up.

Anyone managed to find a solution other than being locked into expensive all in one packages? 

Mark_d

This sounds like fake news about smart meters requiring broadband.  Smart Meters actually communicate via the DCC.

To save money there are many free channels you can receive on TV.  I pay £4.50 per month (Lebara) for my phone - perhaps your my can get a cheaper package with less data?

FlorayG

The smart meter isn't the thing that needs wi-fi, it's the little gadget that tells you in real time how much you are using that needs wi-fi, but you don't need to have the gadget, the meter will still work
I assume you mean landline 'phone not mobile?

born_again

FlorayG said:

The smart meter isn't the thing that needs wi-fi, it's the little gadget that tells you in real time how much you are using that needs wi-fi, but you don't need to have the gadget, the meter will still work
I assume you mean landline 'phone not mobile?

Even the in home device does not need WiFi as it is connected to the meter via it's own connection.

p00hsticks

I'm not very tech savvy but I don't understand what sort of 'TV package' she is looking for that wouldn't also need broadband ?

Does she have a working TV aerial and a reasonably modern TV ? If so does that combination not offer her all the TV functionality she needs without any further 'package' ?

Then all she needs is a phone (as others have pointed out, a smart meter does not need broadband). 

I've found the problem with trying to cut out individual bits from 'phone, TV & broadband' bundle packages is that often the price of the individual bits is the same or even exceeds that of the bundles. 

Brie

Freesat or Freeview should provide a good range of channels.  But the broadband may be required to get that depending on where she lives.  She piggy back on to a neighbour's if the neighbour doesn't mind.  

Wondering about the impact of this when the landlines switch to VOIP.  Will the phone companies be providing access for free?

Rodders53

Brie said:

Wondering about the impact of this when the landlines switch to VOIP.  Will the phone companies be providing access for free?

Existing copper lines will be used for a 'data connection' to do the VoIP bit...  like broadband but with no internet access.

Neil_Jones

leannede3 said:

My 84 yr old mum doesn't need all the fancy channels that come with today's TV packages, she just wants a basic TV & phone package.  Also, the only reason for broadband is her smart meter - thinking of going back to no smart meter if the figures add up.

Anyone managed to find a solution other than being locked into expensive all in one packages? 

So cancel the TV then and just run with Freeview.

You don't need internet for the smart meter, you've never needed it for the smart meter.  Not sure why you think you need broadband for that.  You probably won't have much say in whether a replacement meter is smart or not (it probably will be), and they're not going to replace it just because, it'll either be end of life or has a fault (my non-smart meter's been in 14 years and my late grandmother's non-smart meter was at least 20 years old back in 2019).

Phone -well if eligible this wipes the floor with the rest of the market:

https://www.bt.com/broadband/home-essentials

You can have broadband on basic and then since Smart TV is pretty much the norm (dumb TVs are available - hard but not impossible to find) the extension is the likes of the iPlayer.