Free Broadband: Is it Really Free?

Free Internet Connections (Broadband)

There are a number of companies offering so called free broadband in the UK. So what does "free" really mean?

What they are doing is offering a bundled service package and offering broadband as part of the package.

So if you are already subscribing to the package, then it is free. Currently (September 2006) there are three major players offering a free broadband service:

Orange (www.orange.co.uk)
Sky (broadband.sky.com)

Which One is The Best

If you are currently a customer of one of the above providers and are already subscribed to a qualifying package then the choice is obvious, as in this case your broadband is really free.

If you are presently an existing customer but not already subscribed to the qualifying package then you will need to make a decision on whether you wish to upgrade ( free broadband tends only to be offered with the more expensive services).

If on the other hand you are not presently taking service from one of those companies then you will need to decide if you can use one of the services.

For example to get free sky broadband you need to be an existing sky TV customer. So you need to take out a TV package first. If you wanted to anyway then it is good deal. If you don't really watch TV then it probably isn't worth it.

Changing Provider

One of the major concerns most people have is being locked into a provider. All current offerings have a minimum contract period, after which you can switch provider.

There are a few companies like that provide a price comparison service for domestic services like phone, broadband, gas etc that make switching easier.

Switching providers is generally straightforward but if you are using others services (e.g. email) from your provider then you should take a look at the Changing an ISP article.

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