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Deals last updated: 18th August 2024
Whether you use a home phone or not – most homes still require a landline to access the internet. If you’re looking for a broadband deal that includes phone services or just simply line rental for broadband; we’ve got tips to save money and recommended deals from our home expert team.
We surveyed over 2,000 broadband customers in the UK* to better understand how they feel about their broadband services. We asked them 20 questions regarding their current broadband provider including how they felt about the speeds they receive, the pricing of their plan, the value for money they are getting and their overall satisfaction.
Below you can see how broadband and phone providers stacked up.
Broadband provider | Independent Advisor rating | Overall customer satisfaction | Broadband speed | Customer service | Reliability | Good value for money |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
EE broadband | ★★★½ | 90% | 66% | 73% | 84% | 67% |
Plusnet broadband | ★★★½ | 88% | 53% | 68% | 83% | 74% |
Vodafone broadband | ★★★½ | 86% | 60% | 69% | 85% | 76% |
BT broadband | ★★★½ | 85% | 62% | 61% | 87% | 59% |
Sky broadband | ★★★½ | 82% | 62% | 64% | 81% | 57% |
Virgin Media broadband | ★★★ | 83% | 56% | 54% | 79% | 58% |
TalkTalk broadband | ★★★ | 78% | 57% | 53% | 80% | 59% |
Most broadband providers offer broadband and phone deals so you’ll never be stuck for choice. We recommend EE if your priority is broadband speed. Vodafone’s deals are best value for money, but if you’re on a tight budget TalkTalk offers decent broadband and phone deals with superfast speeds at affordable prices.
A broadband and phone package gives you access to a broadband connection and a phone service, which is ideal for people who still make and receive landline calls.
The cost of renting a line should be included in the monthly cost of your broadband and phone package, and you can choose the kind of phone contract you want. The options will likely include the following:
There are a few reasons why you might want to consider combined broadband and phone contracts, including:
Some full fibre broadband providers may offer a digital phone bundle instead of traditional landline packages; the PTSN switch off is fast approaching and providers are no longer offering new customers traditional phone services This means your calls are made over the internet, via a home phone that is plugged into your router.
The revised schedule gives customers more time to transition to the fibre network. This is particularly important as customers who rely on telecare alarms could be left without emergency care if the switch-off happens before they have fibre broadband. As such, broadband providers need to make sure vulnerable customers have alternative options to contact emergency services where necessary.
To ensure a smooth transition make sure you:
Before taking out a broadband and phone bundle, it’s always worth weighing up the pros and cons.
Our survey found that 57 per cent of broadband customers consider bundled services to be an important factor when choosing their current broadband provider.
To find the best broadband and landline offers, you need to work out what ‘best’ looks like for you. Every household has different broadband and home phone needs, so you should bear that in mind when you’re comparing offers.
Here’s what our experts consider to be the most important factors to consider:
The main factor that will decide what phone and broadband package you can get is what’s available in your area. Use our postcode checker to check what packages are available in your area.
When comparing the price of deals, you should consider the overall cost of the package. That’s not just the price per month, but any costs associated with the phone part of your package specifically. For example, can you pay extra to boost the amount of free minutes you receive? What is the price per minute? And what are the charges for international calls?
Broadband speed is one of the most important factors to consider when choosing a broadband package. Providers will usually advertise the average download speed of a plan in megabits per second (Mbps).
You should consider the following:
We asked customers how often they received their advertised speed. EE came out on top, with 66 per cent of respondents claiming they always or mostly receive their advertised speed.
Unless you have a pay-as-you-go phone package, your deal will outline when you can make free calls, for how long, and to which numbers.
Here’s what to look for:
Our experts researched which providers offer the best rates, here’s our top three and their charges per minute:
While almost all broadband packages now include unlimited data, it is always worth checking beforehand, so you don’t get charged for going over your allowance.
You should always be on the lookout for any set-up costs or installation fees associated with your phone and broadband package. This could include postage and packaging for your new router, or the cost of an engineer coming to install a new line.
The length of your contract will play a role in determining its cost. Most of the time, for example, if you sign up for a 24-month contract, it will be cheaper per month than the 18-month option.
Although it’s not the most important thing to consider, any sign-up perks or bonuses on offer can help you decide between two comparable broadband and phone offers.
Customer service, though not as crucial as speed or price, should be considered when choosing the right provider for you.
It can be time-consuming doing the research, and reading online reviews doesn’t always build up a clear picture of a company’s level of customer service.
Our survey asked over 2,000 broadband customers whether they were satisfied with their current provider’s customer service. The table below features shows the broadband and phone providers ranked according to their customers’ satisfaction when it comes to customer service.
The number of complaints a provider receives is an important metric to determine their quality of their service. The table below shows the number of complaints per 100,000 customers each broadband and phone provider received in Q4 2023[1].
Broadband providers | Number of complaints per 100,000 |
---|---|
Sky | 2 |
EE | 3 |
Vodafone | 4 |
Plusnet | 6 |
TalkTalk | 9 |
BT | 7 |
NOW Broadband | 10 |
Virgin Media | 13 |
Broadband and phone contracts aren’t just limited to landlines. More and more broadband and mobile phone bundles are appearing on the market. These are often labeled as broadband and SIM offers. Sometimes the mobile SIM will be part of the package, and sometimes it will be available as an optional add-on.
These can provide great discounts if you need multiple mobile phone contracts, for example if you require a family plan, or if you’re looking for a bigger bundle that includes TV as well as broadband and SIM.
Currently the following providers offer broadband and SIM bundles:
Survey of broadband customers aged between 24-64 conducted on Censuswide, 11-14 March 2024. Survey sample: 2,003 respondents, totalling Sky (489), BT Broadband (412), Virgin Media (396), EE (134), Vodafone (124), Other (102), Plusnet (66), NOW Broadband (45), Three (31), Hyperoptic (14), Community Fibre (8), Unsure (7). Respondents who selected Hyperoptic, Community Fibre, Other or Unsure were discarded from our review. Respondents were asked to rate each category on a five-point scale, from Very Poor to Excellent, or from Never to Always, with the option of selecting Don’t Know for all questions. For the third question (“What issues, if any, have you experienced with your current broadband provider”) respondents could select from the following: Price Hikes, Slow Speeds, High Prices, Frequent Disconnections, Poor Customer Service, Billing Issues, Other and N/A. The questions used to calculate our score were: “How often, if at all, do you feel the actual speed of your broadband service matches the advertised speed,” “How would you rate your experience with customer service and support from your broadband provider,” ”What issues, if any, have you experienced with your current broadband provider? (Select all that apply),” “How easy or difficult is it/would it be to reach your provider using your preferred method,” “How do you rate the value for money of your broadband service,” “How would you rate the transparency of pricing and additional fees in your broadband service”.
[1] Ofcom, Report: Complaints about broadband, landline, mobile and pay-TV services, January 2024
If you don’t use a landline, there are broadband-only packages you can go for instead. This may be cheaper than getting a bundled broadband and phone contract.
Broadband-only deals are often full-fibre, so you may be able to benefit from faster download speeds. However, full fibre is currently only available to 57 per cent of households in the UK. If fibre broadband isn’t available in your area, consider a mobile broadband offer, ideal for rural properties or areas with few internet options.
If you don’t use a landline, there are broadband-only deals you can go for instead. This may be cheaper than getting a bundled broadband and phone contract.
Broadband-only deals are often full-fibre, so you may be able to benefit from faster download speeds. However, full fibre is currently only available to 57 per cent of households in the UK. If fibre broadband isn’t available in your area, consider a mobile broadband deal, ideal for rural properties or areas with few internet options
Some broadband connections require a phone line to deliver internet to your home. Most broadband connections use the copper phone line network, so even if you don’t use your landline to make and receive calls you may still need a broadband and phone deal. If you live in a rural area which is solely reliant on the copper network, it’s more than likely you will need a phone line to connect to the internet.
The only type of broadband that doesn’t require a phone line is fibre broadband – currently only available to just over half (57 per cent) UK.
Before signing up for any internet contract, it’s important to research broadband in your area to find out what’s available to you.
Yes, you can still use a landline phone with full fibre broadband. The only difference is, your landline won’t run on the old copper wire network. Instead, the service is provided by fibre cables which offer a more stable and reliable connection.
Explore our picks of the best broadband and phone deals in July
Deals checked by Rachel Sadler, our broadband expert
With her expert advice and knowledge, you can trust Rachel to guide you to the best broadband deal for your needs.