Plusnet launches half-price broadband deal

Plusnet has launched a new deal offering its broadband at half price for a year. How does it compare to the best of the rest broadband packages?

Yorkshire-based Plusnet has launched a terrific special offer, offering customers who sign up to Plusnet Value or Plusnet Extra home phone and broadband by 29 October half-price broadband for the first 12 months.

This makes Plusnet Value broadband a mere £3.24 a month for up to a 16MB connection and 10GB download limit. Alternatively, Plusnet Extra -- which includes a 60GB download limit -- is now available for £5.74 a month.

For both deals, you must switch your line rental to Plusnet, which costs £12.99 a month (rising to £13.99 from 30 October). Both are cheaper than BT's monthly rental of £14.60. Otherwise, you can pay an entire year's line rental in advice with Plusnet Line Rental Saver, which costs £113.38 (rising to £125.88 on 30 October), which works out at £9.49 a month (£10.49 from 30 October).

Having been a Plusnet customer for two years until I moved house in April 2011, I can highly recommend its service. Plusnet offers 24/7 UK-based customer service via a freephone number when calling from landlines, plus an 0345 number for users to use inclusive minutes when calling via mobiles.

What's more, consumer champion Which? also recommends Plusnet's service.

The best broadband deals

The only sensible way to compare broadband deals is to shop around online using an Ofcom-accredited broadband comparison calculator, such as Broadbandchoices.co.uk.

What's more, the best broadband deals available in your area depend on your specific location, so you should always do a postcode search to double-check what offers you can grab. 

Before signing up to any contract, check the initial tie-in (usually 12 or 18 months) and look for all additional charges, such as upfront sign-up fees, landline rental and so on.

As a general rule, it's almost always cheaper to buy broadband with landline rental and a call package than to buy a broadband-only package and keep your landline with BT. With that in mind, here are Broadbandchoices' 10 cheapest broadband plus phone offers available right now.

These 10 deals are ranked from cheapest to most expensive, based on the cost of broadband and landline in the first year:

* includes monthly fees plus all upfront costs

The cheapest -- and simplest -- of these bargain-basement deals is Tesco's offer of broadband plus free evening and weekend calls for £2.50 a month for the first year. This adds up to £30 in year one, which rises to £195 when monthly line rental of £13.75 is included.

For the record, Tesco's is the only deal currently in the market which beats Plusnet's latest special offer -- and by a mere £4.75 over a year.

Note that Plusnet has three entries in this top 10, showing how aggressively it is taking on the big broadband suppliers. Then again, it's worth noting that Plusnet is 100%-owned by BT, so it's competing with its own parent!

Before you switch

Before moving to a new Internet Service Provider (ISP), you should check your current provider's disconnection and exit charges. If you're in the first 12 to 18 months of a fixed-term contract, high penalty charges may make switching excessively expensive.

In addition, check with your new provider to find out if it charges any migration or set-up fees for moving your broadband to its service. Finally, to switch smoothly, ask your existing ISP for your Migration Authorisation Code (MAC). In itself, this request may convince your current provider to offer you a better deal.

More on broadband:

Find Britain's best broadband

BT to raise prices by up to 5.9% 

Everything Everywhere set to launch 4G mobile internet

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