12 April 2006
The decision by Carphone Warehouse to offer free broadband for home phone customers will spark a price war in the sector, according to price comparison and switching website uSwitch.com.
The company's Talk Talk deal gives consumers unlimited national and international calls to 24 countries as well as up to 8Mb broadband.
"With this aggressive strategy to increase market share, Talk Talk has set a benchmark for the industry and other providers will have little choice but to follow suit to be able to compete effectively," said Chris Williams, home telephony product manager.
"This unprecedented deal is great news for consumers and makes broadband accessible to all. TalkTalk's new offer is designed to get the 14 million homes that are yet to sign up to the benefits of broadband on board."
Some consumers could save as much as £468 a year, uSwitch.com said.
Mr Williams added: "This is a bold move by TalkTalk as this offer will result in an operating loss of approximately £50 million in the current financial year, however this will be justified by the rapid recruitment of customers that this new package will attract."
He also predicted that even greater opportunities were on the horizon for consumers.
"The battle for market share will heat up further towards the end of the summer when Sky launches its broadband service and BT introduces broadband over TV," he said.
Use the uSwitch.com comparison and switching service to find the lowest cost for your calls and line rental
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