Exceptional Internet

A number of providers are now offering free broadband internet as an incentive for taking their primary services. In the UK the 3 main operators are currently Talk Talk, Sky and Orange.

While the initial hook of free broadband might seem attractive it is important that you understand the full terms of service and your own internet requirements before signing up.

The first thing you need to be aware of is that these services offer restrictive monthly download limits. If you are the type of user that watches a lot of streaming video or downloads music or games then you may find that you reach the download limit, which can be as low as 2gb per month, quite quickly. If you are just a casual internet user then this may not prove to be an issue.

Secondly you need to ask yourself if you really want the service that the broadband is bundled with. It is important to remember that you are getting the broadband as an incentive, and not buying broadband and getting the primary product bundled as you will be paying £20 or more per month plus a connection fee in some cases which makes the total annual cost of your internet connection higher than a standalone product.

With the 2 main telephony related offers from Talk Talk and Orange you need to commit to one of their call packages with a minimum spend, approx. £2o with Talk Talk and £30 mobile phone contract with Orange. If you are already paying for these services and the level of the broadband service is acceptable for your requirements then you might as well take the package. Similarly if you are a heavy landline or mobile phone user then you may benefit from switching to these services and regard the free internet access as an added bonus.

With the Sky package you are eligable for free broadband if you take one of their television subscriptions. Many people already use Sky as their digital tv provider and if your internet usage is low then using Sky for your broadband is worthwhile. At time of writing there is a £40 setup fee which includes a wireless router but the basic service only offers a 2gb download limit - which is ironic as part of the advertising campaign is the ability to view movies any time online. Nevertheless I have recommended Sky broadband to family members who already took their television service and who primarily use the internet for e-mail and low bandwidth applications and found that even for non-techically minded people the setup was smooth and painless, something that could not be said for Talk Talk which at least in the beginning was massively oversubscribed and customers suffered huge delays before being connected to the service and when seeking technical support.

If you don’t have a need for the primary services the recommendation would always be to look for stand-alone broadband connections, as even faster and unlimited packages can be obtained for the price of the Orange, Talk Talk or even Sky offerings.

Filed under: Using The Web