How to get the best deal on broadband and phone
Everyone needs broadband – high-speed internet connection – to access everything from news to television and film streaming services even to niche connectivity features like smart fridges and energy usage monitors, but not a lot of people realize that sometimes the way broad-band finds its way into the home can be dependent on having a landline phone too. These are falling away as fiber optic cable is making its way directly into homes, and broad-band suppliers are ensuring that they meet even more of our needs by filling the landline gap with mobile phone supplies.
It can be hard to keep up with changing technologies: people now in their fifties have gone from having fixed rotary telephones with wired handsets, to cordless phones, to bulky desktop computers and car phones, pagers and beepers, to early basic mobiles (with monochrome screens and limited text capability) to the plethora of tablets, phablets, VoIP enabled laptops, netbooks and more that we have available to us today! From old, excruciatingly slow dial up internet connections which used up the whole bandwidth of a landline (it had to be unplugged from the phone and slotted into the back of the computer, and then took anywhere from a few minutes to half-an-hour or so to achieve connection with the internet!) to modern wireless enable super-high-speed broad-band, the internet landscape has changed immoderately in the last thirty or forty years. With all this change, how can anyone know how to get the best possible price for this year’s broadband and phone deals?
Haggle
The old’s ways are sometimes the best ways, even when dealing with state of the art technologies! Very often, a good way to get a better price on a deal is simply to ask! If you are polite but determined, and know what a reasonable price for your particular deal is, then you can always just ask for the price quoted to you to be lowered. Even if you do not get exactly what you are asking for (and always ask for a larger discount than you think you will receive, just in case!) you should still get something taken off the price, unless it is already subject to a reduction or special offer. The art of haggling is to sound polite, but not desperate, and to respond to counter-offers with mild, but noticeable disdain – this can work to shave another percentage or so off the price!
Ask Around
Sometimes companies give their loyal customers rewards for introducing friends and family to the package, or buy-one-get-one-discounted deals. When you are looking for a new deal, always ask your most money-savvy friends who they recommend and ask if they know of any offers that you could take advantage of.
Do It Yourself
If you are fairly tech-savvy, then you can always research the deals available yourself, shortlisting those that meet your particular needs and choosing between the big guns of telecoms: BT, Vodafone, Virgin Media and Sky and the smaller but still significant up-and-comers in the game: Plusnet, SSE (one of the big six as far as energy supplies go, but still a relative newbie in the phone and broad-band game), Now Broadband (from the creators of Now TV, it makes sense that they would want to provide the medium through which their products reaches their customers) and the Post Office (ancient (the original supplier!) in terms of the communications industry, but not so well known for its domestic provision in this Internet world). Which of these you choose, will depend on what they offer you and what you value in the service.
Comparison is Key
Using a comparison site like Broadband Choices to help you narrow down the options can help you to choose. Not only do sites like this have inside information (so to speak) on the latest deals on offer by the big broadband suppliers: Virgin Media is expanding rapidly across the country, Sky is clinging to customers by valuing loyalty, BT offers a comprehensive service and controls most of the landlines in the nation, and Vodafone, a giant in the mobile world, relies on selling its expertise and solid product understanding, but they stay on top of the smaller guys too. The Post Office offers an alternative landline connection to those provided by BT, customer service offered by Plusnet receives generally excellent feedback, SSE has years of energy excellence and established systems to transfer to the broadband and phone departments, and Now Broadband is hungry – could customers benefit from making the jump while the company is small, agile and able to offer excellent deals?
