TV With That Broadband, Sir..?

Thinking of bundling your broadband in with your mobile, TV or landline? Guy Clapperton compares the best deals available.

A couple of weeks ago my colleague Szu Ping Chan investigated the various broadband options available and how much they cost.

Astute Fools will know, however, that there is more to broadband than just, well, broadband. You can have it with your TV, you can have it with a landline, you can have it with a mobile. you can even have it with a Playstation!

Here is a selection of the deals that are currently on offer:

Broadband with mobile phones

Many of the mobile phone providers will put broadband in with their phone offerings.

O2: From £7.50 a month. But if you're a heavy web user on your mobile you can get broadband on your landline for free.

Orange: £6 a month for the first three months, then £12 a month. This includes a Livebox, which is a wireless router to which you can attach Playstations and other networked games consoles.

Vodafone: A more expensive option at £14 a month but it includes calls to UK landlines. Check your existing phone bill and see whether it's going to save you money!

Broadband with TV

Broadband bundles which include cable or satellite television are becoming increasingly popular. But it is very difficult to compare like for like. Here are some of the more popular options:

• Tiscali TV: Sign up to Tiscali TV and broadband and you can have 60+ channels (although no doubt there's still won't be anything on) with phone minutes and broadband, including a free set top box, for £15.99 a month.
• BT Vision: BT announced earlier this year that you'd be able to get a Microsoft Xbox 360 Games Console instead of their standard set-top box. But this hasn't yet made it to the current offers on the BT website. Still, if you're a keen gamer and want to save the £190 it would cost you to buy the Xbox 360, this will be a good option for you when it materialises. For this or for BT's set-top box recorder you need BT Broadband.
• Sky: The grand-daddy of bundled offerings. Sky offered a phone service with its satellite TV early on. Sky TV with Sky Sports will cost you £36 a month and they'll chuck in broadband at no extra cost.

To get the most out of these offerings you'll need a decent television. If you want to play Xbox 360 games in high definition or to watch high-def material from Sky then you need a compatible television; have a look at the article on New TVs I wrote a few weeks back.

Extras, Extras.

You might also want to look at some of the freebies you can pick up at some of the independent outlets. Carphone Warehouse, for example, is currently offering a free laptop or a free Sony Playstation 3 when you take up AOL broadband.

A little warning

One final thought. Once a month, I bravely follow in fellow Fool Dr. David Kuo's footsteps and appear on BBC Radio London for a chat about technology, on the late show. On one recent appearance we had a caller who'd suffered a problem with her bundled Sky service, which included Internet, television and phone. You can guess what's coming. There was one problem and she lost the lot for a whole week.

Similarly, the comments on Szu Ping's article demonstrate just how important it is to consider your broadband provider's customer service track record.

We're here to save you some cash, but sometimes you have to remember: it's not just about the money!

More: Ditch BT And Save £118 A Year | Save £240 A Year With A Broadband Bundle | Save £203 A Year With A Dongle