Broadband & home phone deals

Broadband and home phone deals explained

In order to get access to the internet, many households will likely need a broadband and home phone deal in place – even if they never use a landline. Nowadays, lots of us don't even have a home phone plugged in, but a phone line is still required for most broadand connections to work.

Some providers will offer broadband deals without needing to pay for a landline service, but many of these connections still need a phone line to get to your home. So others just offer the home phone as standard.

All the major providers on Uswitch offer deals that bundle these two services together, and the majority of them have at least 96% coverage across the UK. So you'll be sure to have plenty of options to choose from if you're looking for a broadband and home phone deal.

Taking a few minutes to compare broadband speeds and monthly prices in your area could not only save you money, but you might even end up with a better service for a cheaper broadband and landline plan, too.

Why should I choose a broadband and phone deal?

The first thing to consider when deciding whether or not to opt for a broadband and phone deal is whether or not you’ll get enough use out of a landline.

If, for example, you make or receive international calls to friends, family or colleagues from overseas, it might work out cheaper for you to use a landline. And if you make calls to other landlines, it could work out cheaper than using your mobile, provided you don’t have any free minutes left, or you’re on a pay as you go contract.

However, with most mobile phone deals including unlimited free minutes as standard, you might be better off with a cheap SIM only contract if you make a lot of calls. To find out if you could benefit, take a look at our SIM only deals.

On the flip side, broadband providers that rely on a copper line to get to your home will still need to issue you with an active phone line. And the majority of broadband connections in the UK still use this technology. So in many cases, you can get a landline for no extra cost.

If the right deal for you comes with a landline, you don’t have to use it. But it may save you money on certain calls if you do, even if you only use it to make the odd call.

However, if your sole reason for having a landline is to connect to broadband and access digital TV, then it might be more cost-effective to compare Uswitch broadband and TV deals or broadband-only deals if they’re available in your postcode.

Compare Uswitch broadband and phone deals

The best internet and landline deals are the ones that best suit your needs. Our broadband and home phone deals table lets you compare lots of different aspects of a broadband and landline plan, so you can choose a service that is best for you and your household.

Trustpilot: Uswitch has a 4.8 out of 5 score from consumer review site Trustpilot, based on nearly 22,000 reviews as of October 2022.

But before you go in search of a new deal, here are a few things to consider:

• While some deals may appear to be more expensive initially, they could save you money in the long run. Be aware of the contract length before signing up.
• Check the total cost of your chosen contract by clicking the 'Price Details' button on each of our deals. You can find it right below the monthly price on every deal we display.
• Remember to look out for additional charges such as set-up costs and line rental fees to get a good idea of what you might have to pay up front.
• And finally, keep in mind any promotional gift vouchers or bill credits when you’re searching. Don't go for a deal just because it has these features, but if you're certain the deal's right for you, make sure you don't miss out on them either — they could knock a big chunk off the total cost of the contract.

Inclusive minutes per month

If you’re looking to spend hours chatting on the home phone, then look out for deals that include the most minutes. That way, you should get more for your money.

When free calls apply

Typically, free minutes are available during evenings and on weekends, but some providers include free minutes at any time of the day.

So make sure to look for deals that offer free minutes if you're planning to use your landline a lot.

How long are calls free for?

Be sure to read your provider's terms & conditions to see when your free minutes are applicable — are they for the first ten minutes of a call or the first hour?

Also make sure you know when to hang up to avoid getting overcharged.

Cost of other calls

Do you use your landline to call mobiles or make international calls? If so, it’s important to check if these types of calls are included in your minutes. If they aren’t, what are the costs?

If you're likely to call mobile phones or speak to people in other countries, you might want to avoid deals that charge extra for these services.

Length of the contract

Typically, the longer the commitment, the lower the monthly fee. So if you’re not averse to a 24-month contract, you could end up saving a fair amount on your monthly bill.

How do phone and broadband deals work?

As the name would suggest, phone and broadband deals work by bundling the cost of your broadband with the cost of a landline for an often cheaper rate. And they often come with free evening and weekend calls. You may also get a number of other benefits, including discounted international call rates, low monthly line rental fees or anytime calls.

And while landlines are being used less and less to make calls, they are often necessary to allow you to access the most widely-available types of home broadband installed in your home. So, if your property can’t yet receive a full fibre broadband connection, you will need to rely on your home phone line to get a reliable broadband connection anyway.

Although it might not be high on your list of priorities, there can be savings to be had if you use your landline. So if you end up with a landline connection because your broadband provider requires one to provide your internet, you might as well have a look at the features it offers in case it can save you some money.

Which providers offer broadband and phone deals?

As you might expect, all of the major UK broadband providers, including BT, Sky, Virgin Media, EE and TalkTalk, offer broadband and home phone deals. Here, we’ll walk you through the different providers and what they offer to help you decide which one to choose:

BT

Although you no longer need to have a landline to get BT broadband, there are several advantages to signing up for one.

For one thing, it has a range of plans, from Pay As You Go, which allows you to just pay for what you use, all the way to an unlimited minutes package that covers calls to other UK landlines and mobiles at any time of the day or night.

It also gives you the option of paying for an international calls add-on, which could save you a significant amount of money if you regularly call friends or family who are overseas.

On top of this, you’ll also get access to BT Protect, which works to block nuisance calls.

TalkTalk

If TalkTalk’s full fibre service is available in your area and you want to sign up, you won’t need a landline. However, if you’re taking out one of TalkTalk's superfast fibre broadband, you'll still need a phone line for it to work. Luckily, line rental is included in these plans, so you won’t have to worry about getting one set up.

TalkTalk’s landline offers are excellent value by anyone’s standards. You can add on unlimited UK calls from just £7 a month (although this increases by £2 for plans taken out from 1 June 2022). And even better, you can get 1,000 minutes of international calls to 50 countries for £7 a month for the first six months (increasing to £14 a month after that).

The best thing about these add-ons is that they’re on a one-month rolling contract. So you can add or remove them at any time.

Virgin Media

Unlike many other providers, Virgin Media operates independently with the use of its own cable network. Therefore, it can offer broadband-only deals that don’t include a landline.

However, Virgin Media still offers a range of broadband and home phone bundles that are well worth considering if you make a lot of calls to friends and family.

The deals that include a landline tend to come with free weekend calls to other landlines. There’s also the option to pay for extras, such as inclusive calls to UK mobiles and international minutes.

Since Virgin Media has merged with O2, it might work out cheaper for you to opt for an O2 SIM instead of a Virgin Media landline when signing up for your broadband package. So be sure to compare prices before you commit.

Sky

At the time of writing, all Sky broadband packages, including standard broadband, superfast fibre and ultrafast, require you to take a landline. However, the inclusive broadband and landline packages Sky offers are pretty reasonable.

When you sign up for a Sky broadband and phone package, you’ll get pay as you go calls included as standard. This means that if you never use your landline, you won’t be charged anything extra.

However, if you regularly use your landline, you’ll be better off adding on a Sky Talk package. This can include evening and weekend calls, anytime calls or international calls, depending on which plan you choose.

What kind of deals are available?

There are loads of different broadband and home phone deals available, depending on your needs and the provider you’re signing up with. But broadly speaking, most providers will offer the following:

• Unlimited calls
• Free evening and weekend calls
• Superfast broadband
• Full fibre broadband
• Anytime phone deals
• International call packages

Broadband provider reviews

A great way to make sure you find the right broadband and landline provider is by learning what each one does best. Reviews offer a detailed look into the things providers do very well, and what customers think other providers do better.

Our Uswitch broadband provider reviews look at the biggest UK broadband providers and suggest who they would be best for, based on what different households may want. So whether you're looking to cut costs, upgrade your speed, add a TV service or all three, our reviews highlight which providers would be most suited to your needs.

Read our broadband provider reviews to help you make a more confident decision on your internet and phone line service.

How do I choose the best broadband and phone deals including line rental?

If you’re choosing a new broadband deal, it’s worth considering getting one that comes with a home phone deal, especially as many providers require a landline for broadband to work.

However, it might not work out to be the most cost-effective solution for customers who don’t make many phone calls or who have unlimited minutes on their mobile phone deal.

To help you weigh up your options, we’ve pulled together a breakdown of the benefits and drawbacks of phone and broadband deals.

Pros of landline and broadband deals

Here are some reasons why a broadband and landline deal could benefit you and your household.

They’re simple to set up

The most widely-available types of home broadband connection in the UK are superfast fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC) and copper ADSL, both of which do require a phone line to work. This is because they use the same copper cables as your landline to get to your home.

So if you’re looking to choose one of the types of internet listed below, a broadband and landline deal would be very easy to set up. Plus, they’re sometimes the same price as their broadband-only alternatives.

Home broadband connections that require a phone line:

These are the most common types of broadband connection in the UK at the moment, so it’ll be very easy to bundle a landline into these deals.

It’s worth noting, however, that ADSL speeds may not deliver the speeds you need, especially if you live with two or more people. Superfast fibre will let you do a lot more with your internet for a very small price difference, or sometimes no price difference at all.

Superfast fibre and ADSL deals are by far the most widely-available connections you can get. So if they’re your only options, you can often enjoy additional home phone services without any extra admin or cost.

Bundling your bills is often cheaper

Most Uswitch broadband providers offer a number of services bundled into one single monthly bill.

So if you happen to be with separate broadband and home phone providers, a deal that encompasses both could end up being cheaper and easier to pay off, provided you regularly use each service.

Cheaper international calls

One of the main benefits of having a landline is that you can often get cheaper international calls than you can on your mobile. A lot of providers have special add-ons that will give you a generous allowance of minutes so you can call friends and family from overseas without worrying about running up a huge bill.

To find out more about this, take a look at our guide on international calls.

Cons of broadband and home phone deals

Keep these things in mind before you sign up for a new broadband and home phone plan.

You might not get much use from your landline

The most important reason to think carefully before you take out a home phone deal is that you might not get the full value out of it. After all, the vast majority of mobile phone deals now come with unlimited free calls to UK landlines and mobiles. So you may end up not using your landline at all if you use your mobile for calls already.

The downside of this is that you’ll still have to cover the cost of line rental, even if you only use your mobile phone for calls. But as the type of connection relies on a landline to work, you may view it as money spent on a service you never use.

Still, because you’ll only pay for calls you make on your landline, you can keep your spending to a minimum.

Some providers charge for landline services

Popular providers like BT and Sky, as well as full fibre providers like Hyperoptic, offer their home phone services at an additional cost. This is different to other providers like Plusnet, TalkTalk and NOW Broadband, as their cheapest options currently come with a landline service too.

So if you're looking to use your landline with your next broadband deal, you may have to pay extra for the privilege. Having said that, bundling it will still often be cheaper than paying for a separate service.

If you don't plan on using a landline, though, you can simply choose a broadband-only option with relevant providers for a cheaper monthly price.

It’s worth noting that some of the cheapest broadband and phone deals don't include line rental, but will start charging it once you fall out of contract. So make sure to check your contract end date and switch your broadband provider to avoid an expensive price hike.

Can I get unlimited phone calls and broadband packages?

It's quite rare that a home phone plan will include anytime unlimited phone calls. Usually, you get a time period per week where you can make unlimited phone calls, such as evenings & weekends, but outside of those set hours you'll likely be charged per minute you're on the phone.

Broadband packages, on the other hand, are all unlimited now. This means that, unlike with your landline, you can use as much of the service as you want without incurring an extra charge.

Can I add TV to my bundle?

Some of the largest broadband providers also let you bundle premium TV packages with their broadband and phone line packages. This means that you can pay for all three services in the same monthly bill, which could save you a lot of money if you currently pay a separate TV bill with another provider.

Broadband providers that let you add TV to your tariff include Sky, Virgin Media, BT, TalkTalk and NOW. The TV channels and services on offer from each differ quite a lot, with Sky and Virgin Media considered to offer the most content. However, they often have the most expensive TV offerings as a result.

The other providers will still give you access to great TV content, but you might be less likely to access top-drawer exclusives like Sky Sports and Sky Cinema.

What broadband and phone deals are available in my area?

There are no end of great broadband and home phone deals around, but the ones available to you will depend on where you live. So it’s a good idea to use our postcode checker to find out what’s available in your area.

Broadly speaking, though, there are a huge range of providers that operate throughout the UK. And to help you out, we’ve rounded up a selection of the biggest providers that offer broadband and landline bundles:

• BT broadband and landline deals are a great option for anyone looking to save money on calls. BT’s superfast fibre broadband and home phone bundles, as well as its ADSL broadband deals, have the option to add TV services to your package too.
• TalkTalk broadband and phone deals feature inclusive UK and international calls, with optional "boosts" or add-ons available to customers wishing to customise their package.
• Virgin Media phone and broadband deals include free evening and weekend calls on certain packages. It also has some of the fastest broadband speeds widely available across the UK, so you will get a lot out of its home phone & broadband bundles.
• Sky broadband and phone deals offer a range of landline call packages in addition to its suite of unmissable TV bundles.

Can I get anytime calls with my package?

Anytime calls are now very common with landline services. In fact, you'll see on our deals table above that the vast majority of broadband and home phone deals we offer already include anytime calls.

Evening & weekend plans still exist, but you won't find that option as much with brand-new landline offers anymore.

Written by: Catherine Hiley, Senior Editor for Telecoms

Last updated: 15th November 2022