Switching your home phone

There are over 170 licensed phone companies in the UK, each offering different tariffs and packages according to the types of phone calls they provide, such as local, national and international calls. Some of these phone companies are household names such as BT, whilst others are less well known. UK phone companies fall into two categories: Direct access and indirect access.

uSwitch.com is the easy and quick way to help you compare the options available and switch to the best value supplier to you.

These phone companies provide a physical telephone line into your home that connects you to the telephone network. Often known as "fixed line" companies, these include British Telecom, Kingston, ntl and Telewest.

These phone companies will redirect your calls over their own network but you still have to pay line rental to your direct access company. Indirect access companies include Primus, Planet Talk, Euphony, First:Telecom, Alpha Telecom and Swiftcall.

These are the two categories of UK phone companies. The phone company that can offer you the best deal will depend on how you wish to use your phone.

You may be happy with your current phone company, but how do you know you can’t get a better deal elsewhere? By switching phone companies you could save up to £200 on your home phone calls so it is worth comparing and seeing if there are other phone companies who offer tariffs more suited to your needs.

If you make a lot of international calls, for example, there are many phone companies who offer low rate international calls. Similarly, if you use the phone regularly at particular times of the day, such as during the day, at night or the weekend, then there may be a phone company offering special rates for these times, or even a set amount of "free calls".