You should look at that Broadband Contract.
You should check that Broadband contract you have, no really do. You leave it and your price may double or triple when out of contract.
Broadband has become an essential part of our daily lives. From work to entertainment, we rely on the Internet for almost everything.
Look at the comparison websites and get a better deal, maybe some new technology too. You can use our referrer code for Quidco if you want.
No matter how long you are with your ISP, they don't respect your loyalty. This seems to be a growing trend along the bigger ISPs who get as many users on their network as possible, and only expand it when enough complaints come in.
Their main goals are to increase customer numbers and maintain smaller service levels for shareholder income rather than reinvesting into the networks and having a more efficient, reliable and cost-effective service for all.
Important things to check:
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CPI policy and increase amount, every March the price is likely to go up. Currently, a package signed up for £24.99 a month goes up to £28.60 in March ( we don't agree with it either..). if you are not in a contract, then the rate can be higher.
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avoid bundle deals with TV over the Internet, especially if it's on older VDSL technology which can't cope with it.
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Fibre is still an odd term, it can be 300mbps, or 2mbps as we've seen around here. FTTC will be most common, relying on copper from Cabinet to Home. FTTP should be pure fibre, but more expensive.
Social tariffs
The good news is if you are on certain income assistance, most ISPs will offer a 'Social Tarriff' broadband contract which could bring the cost down, prevent the CPI increases each march, and maintain a standard level of service.
Ofcom has a list of ISPs who offer them
Additional things
Thanks to BT/Microsoft's recent change of restricting office365 based accounts (email lite) from POP/IMAP connections, I'm going to say don't use your ISP's email addresses for critical accounts.
Use something like Gmail/Outlook, or for better personal branding, get a Domain name and link it to Gmail or Outlook.
Again, ISPs do not respect loyalty, so don't leave yourself tied to them.
- Previous: 2023 shaping up to be a pain
- Next: 2024 onwards