Are Bundles Of TV, Broadband & Phone Packages Worth It?
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Article Updated Monthly: Last Update July 2008
The Year Of The Bundle
While 2006 was the year of so called 'free' broadband with offers from the likes of TalkTalk and Orange, 2007 was the year of the bundle with 3 for £30 deals from Virgin Media, £26 Surf, Speak and See packages from Sky and £19.99 phone line rental, broadband and TV offers from Tiscali. 2008 looks set to be another year of bundling as new providers like O2 add internet TV to their broadband offerings, while mobile broadband will also become more popular.Bundles Now A Major Influence On Our Choice Of Provider
Such promotion of bundled TV, broadband and phone packages is certainly influencing our purchase behaviour with a recent research report from Ofcom stating that bundling is now the second most important factor influencing our choice of provider.However, a raft of questions remain unanswered - questions like 'Are these bundle offers really as cheap as they say they are?', 'what are the pros and cons of taking all these services from just one supplier?' and 'do they really represent good value for money?'
In this article we explore the current broadband, phone, TV and mobile bundle craze sweeping the UK, providing answers to these questions and more.
What Is A Bundle?
Put simply, a bundle is an offer of two or more services for one attractive monthly price that is cheaper than buying them separately. There are many different bundle combinations to choose from. These range from the popular broadband and phone packages provided by the likes of Pipex, BT and Orange, to the newer bundles from Virgin Media, Talk Talk, Sky and Tiscali that include digital TV and sometimes mobile phone plans - Virgin's quad play offering has this.Why Is There So Much Competition Between Bundle Suppliers?
The convergence of internet, TV and telecoms technologies has certainly heated up the battle between the bundle providers. Companies like Tiscali and BT (the latter with their BT Vision 'telly' service) now offer digital TV services over broadband in an effort to counteract the threat posed by Sky's entrance into the broadband market.But, it's not just technologies and competition driving the bundle craze - the theory held by the ISP's is that once a customer signs up to a bundle, there's far less chance of them switching to another provider as it would be too much hassle and potentially cost a lot of money. For example, if you sign up to a Virgin Media bundle and later want to switch back to BT, there's a cost of circa £115 to have your BT line re-installed, not to mention any contract cancellation fees that you may incur.
So, not only do ISP's benefit from the increased monthly income they receive from you for taking a bundle, they'll also likely to benefit from keeping you as a customer for much longer.
Are Bundles Really As Cheap As They Say They Are?
Bundles aren't necessarily as cheap as their headline marketing message. For example, take the Sky Surf, Speak, See £26 per month package. Available to 70% of UK households, this bundle includes up to 8Mb broadband, evening/weekend local and national UK landline phone calls and up to 139 digital TV channels.However, in the small print, you'll find out that you still have to pay a separate £11 per month to BT for your telephone line rental and a pay Sky a one off £40 broadband activation fee. The Sky Talk package excludes any daytime calls you make during the week. Calls to mobiles & international numbers, plus non geographic & premium rate numbers (those starting 08, 09 and 118) are also excluded so you'll be paying on top of the £26 per month for these as well.
The Sky bundles do have their good points though. You can build a broadband, phone and TV package to suit your requirements, meaning the headline rate for such a bundle starts from just £15 a month, plus your £11 BT line rental. You can also add Sky programmes like Sky Sports to your bundle and pay from just £34 for the whole lot (excluding line rental). You'll also receive a free wireless router so you can enjoy wireless broadband around your house.
Available to 55% of the UK households on their cable network, Virgin Media's standard 3 for £30 bundle paints a similar picture. Though broadband speeds are slower at 2Mb, the good news is the bundle DOES include your telephone line rental cost, plus access to 129 digital TV channels. However, the calls package only covers weekend local and national UK landlines calls. So again, you'll be paying more for daytime and evening calls during the week, plus anytime calls to mobile, non geographic and premium rate numbers. There's also a one off £25 fee to pay for an engineer installation, while the 'free' modem you receive is on a free rental basis, so you'll have to give it back if you leave them.
It certainly pays to read the small print of the various bundle deals on offer as its likely you'll end up paying more per month than the cheap headline price advertised. With additional phone call charges being the main culprit for this, you may want to consider using a free internet phone service like Skype, or use your free call minutes on your mobile to keep your bundle costs low.
Don't forget you can compare all the various bundles offered by Sky, Virgin Media and all the other major providers by entering your postcode on our broadband comparison page. Please note, the costs we show include any installation or activation costs, but exclude your typical monthly telephone line rental cost of £11. In the case of Virgin Media we state in the package details that line rental is included.
The Pros & Cons Of Bundling TV, Broadband And Phone Packages With One Provider
There's many pros and cons of bundling your broadband, phone, TV and even mobile phone with one supplier. We've listed a few of them below for you to consider:Bundle pros:
- One bill for all your homes telecommunication needs
- One direct debit
- One point of contact for customer and technical support
- Good value provided you choose the right bundle to suit your needs and you use the phone call package wisely
Bundle cons:
- Your minimum term contract period with them may be longer than a year
- Should one of your bundle services like broadband have a fault, you may find it affects the TV and phone services as well
- Potentially bad value for money if you choose a bundle that you don't use enough (e.g. you never watch the 129 TV channels), or you don't use the phone calls package wisely
- Over dependence on one supplier which is not great if it has poor customer service
Do Bundles Really Represent Good Value For Money?
In a nutshell, yes - provided you sign up to the right bundle to suit your needs, you use all the services it includes like the numerous TV channels and most importantly, you use the calls package wisely. The headline savings you can make by buying a bundle compared to the cost of buying broadband, TV and phone separately are clear, it's just how you use the bundle that dictates whether you get real value for money.You need to ask yourself whether you really need 129 digital TV channels or whether you could make do with a cheap Freeview box with circa 35 channels that comes with no monthly fee. You need to remind yourself not to make unnecessary phone calls during the day if your phone package only covers evening or weekend UK landline phone calls. If you have a mobile on a contract basis, make use of your monthly call minutes to make phone calls, or if your considering a bundle that includes a mobile tariff, make sure you check how many free minutes and texts you get.
A Future Filled With Bundles?
As technology changes, we're likely to see more bundles coming on to the market that include the likes of mobile TV and wi-fi broadband. Most of these will be good value for money if we use them wisely - the problem is in many cases we won't and that's what the providers rely on to make their profits.What Do I Do Next?
Now you've read our guide on broadband, phone, TV and mobile bundles, the next step is to visit our broadband comparison page where you can enter your postcode and search for various bundle combinations offered by the UK's broadband providers. You'll be able to compare speeds, download limits, contract lengths, costs per month and first year costs for all the bundles available where you live.See you next month for more advice on bundled TV, broadband and phone packages.
Important Note - Please Read
Please note we are able to provide this impartial advice on bundles and our comparison service to you for free because we receive a small commission from the internet service provider you sign up with - which means we are funded by your actions. This only happens when you click on the orange coloured 'go to site' buttons on this website, so if you're going to order a broadband deal or bundle, please return to this site to do so. This will help us to continue to provide this free independent service for you. You do not pay any extra for your chosen suppliers package or bundle by signing up through this site.If you're unsure as to some of the terms used on this page, please read our beginner's guide to broadband or our guide to switching supplier.
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