Cheap broadband explained

Cheap broadband deals really couldn't get much cheaper, as the credit crunch shifts up a gear, belt-tightening and penny pinching are more important than ever before and ISPs are combatting that with the cheapest broadband deals ever.

The cheapest broadband deals now start from free, yes that's right, free broadband! From the cheapest broadband packages to the more expensive bigger bundle packs many broadband packages now offer the option of a free introductory period.

Competition for your business has never been so tough, so in order to make their broadband packages as attractive as possible in these hards times, ISPs have had to start offering some really cheap broadband packages, with loads of freebies thrown in for good measure.

Combat the credit crunch with budget broadband bundle offers

For those of us looking to cut back on our monthly bills, choosing a cheap broadband starter pack for less than £10 per month, could mean you get everything and save you as much as £30 per month!

If you sign up to some broadband packages you may not have to pay a penny for as long as six months - though of course, you should remember you will have to pay at some point, so you may want to make sure you budget for this once you have to start paying for your broadband!

Some of the most appealing cheap broadband packages are those that give us great deals on something else on top of our broadband. Cheap broadband is increasingly becoming more about a whole home entertainment package, and ISPs have cottoned on to the fact that budget broadband deals are what we want. The cheapest broadband deals are the budget-boosting deals that allow us to save money on our other household utilities, and at the end of the day, that's what we we're all after.

One ISP has even added a credit crunch ‘Emergency Plan’ into their service:

In January this year Charles Dunstone, CEO of TalkTalk Group agreed to waive TalkTalk's £6.49 monthly broadband charge to help their customers experiencing financial difficulties.

Available from 30th January, the Emergency Plan will give people suffering economic hardship free access to the internet and phone for six months, meaning those customers will only pay line rental.

During the six-month grace period TalkTalk broadband customers will be provided with a free, basic service to make sure they can still access the internet and use their phone. This six-month period is intended to give affected customers enough time to sort out their finances.

Cheap Broadband gets you started

Taking out a cheap broadband package is great if you're not sure which package is right for you, particularly if you're new to broadband. It's good to know you can always up-grade from the cheapest package later on whereas you may have to wait until the end of the contract to down-grade or in some cases pay a fee.

Some of the cheapest broadband deals on the market are basic or starter packs. These cheap broadband starter packs usually come with a free wireless router as well as free home phone calls, this means that cheap broadband can not only offer you a great monthly deal but provide you with everything you need to get set up for broadband on a budget!

Benefits of cheap broadband

• Light users or browsers Some of us only want to use the internet at the weekends or in the evenings, just to check-in on our email inbox and maybe browse a few internet shops. Cheap broadband packages are a great way for light internet users to have access to emails and online shopping from as little as £4.99 per month!
• Beginners If you're just getting started with the internet and you're really not sure how much you're going to use it, it's really not worth signing up to an expensive long term contract. You may well find that you are a techy in the making and end up becoming a heavy internet user, but it definitely makes sense to sign up for a cheap package - you can always upgrade later! You will find cheap broadband starter packs for less than £5 per month.
• Students If you want to save your pennies for books or beers, then finding the cheapest broadband deal will be a top priority! Several of the top ISP's cater to your needs offering cheap broadband deals designed to appeal to students requirements. With dedicated student deals making broadband cheap as chips, why would you pay more?
• Modem owners If you already own a wireless modem you can get a cheap broadband package and save money on hardware. If you sign up to UK online, they will allow you to use your existing modem or router at no extra cost! They do endorse the Netgear wireless router, but you can buy this seperately to the cheap broadband package.

Top 10 Broadband Awards for value broadband in the UK

While we all want the cheapest broadband deal we can find, we like to know that the deal we have represents good value, in other words, we want to know that we have got a great deal because we are saving money AND getting a great product.

In our recent Top 10 Broadband Awards 2008 we decided that instead of rewarding the ISPs with the cheapest broadband deals, we would reward the ISPs that offer the best value to their customer. To make sure we gave the award to the right person, we looked at all the cheapest broadband packages on the market and took into account all extra costs and fees, including set-up charges, we also looked at entire first year cost and hardware costs.

After careful consideration, TalkTalk were awarded the value broadband prize for their cheap broadband and home phone bundles. When it comes to low cost broadband it's all about TalkTalk, they consistently offer the cheapest broadband and home phone packages on the market often with international calls thrown in.

If you'd like to find out more about the winner of the Top 10 Broadband award for best value broadband click here value broadband.

Low cost broadband providers:

Cheap AOL Broadband deals

AOL's cheap broadband packages are great if you are just starting out with broadband. Their cheapest broadband package comes in at less than £5 per month and is great value for money. Even AOL's cheap broadband packages come with a free wireless router and if you go for the Wireless Flexi Off-peak or Wireless Flexi Anytime options you will also get free off-peak or anytime phone calls thrown in.

AOL's cheapest broadband deal - for just £4.99 per month get:

• Up to 8Mbps download speed (depending on line & location).
• A wireless router.
• Zero hassle set-up.
• Easy-install pack with step-by-step instructions.
• 2,500 experts to talk to for free-phone technical advice, 8am till midnight.
• No hidden charges.
• There’s no set up fee, just BT line rental required.

Cheap Virgin Media broadband deals

Though not available to everyone, Virgin's M cable broadband package is one of the cheapest broadband deals around. For less than £5 per month you get unlimited download on fibreoptic broadband, free weekend calls, modem and PC guard. You do have to pay £11 for you landline though so if you're looking to really save the pennies, it's possibly not the best cheap broadband package out there.

Virgin Media's cheapest broadband deal - for £5.00 per month get:

• Up to 2Mb service.
• No download limits.
• PCguard2: Protect your PC with anti-virus, firewall & pop-up blocker.
• A modem to connect you to the internet.
• Help when you need it, online and on the phone.
• Download a music track in under 20 seconds.
• Wireless Router (one off cost £40).

Cheap TalkTalk broadband

TalkTalk Essentials is a great deal giving you a free wireless router, off-peak calls and inclusive broadband. Starting from just £6.49 you can add as many boosts as you want to your package from just £4 each in order to tailor-make a cheap broadband deal that's just right for you!

TalkTalk's cheapest broadband deal - for £6.49 per month get:

• Up to 8Meg Broadband.
• 40Gig download limit.
• Unlimited inclusive evening and weekend calls.
• Free wireless router.

Cheap O2 broadband

Despite not always being the cheapest ISP out there, O2 have responded to the credit crunch with a really competitive cheap home broadband deal for O2 customers. O2's Standard deal comes in at just £7.34 per month if you're an existing O2 customer - great for those of us looking to make savings across the board.

O2's cheapest broadband deal - for £7.34 per month get:

• Up to 8meg download speed (subject to location).
• Up to 1.3meg upload speed.
• McAfee security software.
• 100 free web texts per month.
• Up to 10 e-mail addresses.

O2 broadband has become even cheaper at Top 10 Broadband; this month a new 3 months free deal's been launched on O2 Premium and O2 Pro packages. This means that you can get free broadband for three months when you sign up to O2 home broadband on our home broadband comparison pages.

Cheap BT broadband

BT are not only offering some great credit crunch beating bundles, that give you cheap broadband, TV and home phone combination deals, but they are now offering an online exclusive of 3 months free broadband on some of their packages too!

This super cheap broadband deal is available on all call and broadband bundles, and is available exclusively to online customers.

BT's cheapest broadband deal - for £7.78 per month get:

• Free BT Home Hub.
• Up to 8Mb download speed.
• Basic Security.
• 10GB monthly usage.
• 250 WiFi minutes each month.

Cheap Be broadband

Thanks to a great online exclusive promo code, you can now get three months free from Be broadband, on any of their packages.

If you enter the promo code 3MONTHSFREE at the checkout stage when signinng up to the Be Value, Be Unlimited or Be Pro deals, you'll get three months, for absolutely nothing, that's a quarter of the year with free broadband!

The good news is that with Be Value, even after your half price first three months are up and you have to go back to full price, it will still cost less than £15 per month!

Cheap broadband bonus deals and offers this spring

As well as offering great cheap broadband some of the more savvy ISPs are offering some great incentives to beat the credit crunch blues this spring:

Sky are offering a free £25 Tesco Gift Card when you sign up to any of their packages as a new customer.

3 mobile broadband are offering some great freebies too, you can get a free iPod and a £20 accessory voucher when you sign up to some of their mobile broadband deals.

Virgin are offering £50 free credit with some of their TV and broadband deals.

Things to consider when buying cheap broadband

Something that seems like a great cheap broadband deal could actually turn out to be a false economy if it doesn't give you everything that you want. When signing up for a cheap broadband deal you should consider several things:

• Speed
• Download allowance
• Contract length

It is also worth checking whether there are any hidden costs that come with cheap broadband deals, some ISPs will make money from you by selling you a cheap broadband package then adding in extras at a cost, for example:

• Introductory periods: how long does the headline price last and what is the price when this finishes? It's worth bearing in mind that some of the cheapest broadband deals out there are half price for the first three months and then will cost you twice the advertised price for the rest of the 12 or 24 month period. You should always check out any price conditions - at Top Broadband, we try to clearly label any price conditions on our comparison tables so you get a good idea of how much the deals will cost you in the long term.
• Excess usage costs: = If you go beyond your monthly allocated allowance what price do you pay? The cheapest broadband packages are great value for the average internet user, if you know that you are a heavy internet user and that you are likely to repeatedly go over your download limit, it may well be worth investing a little more money to get a bigger download allowance than what's included in the cheapest broadband packages.
• Set-up charges: how much does it cost to set up your contract? Most ISPs don’t charge anything for set-up but it’s worth finding out, particularly if you are installing new hardware.
• Hardware costs: do you have to pay for a router, and if you do, do you have to have router? You may already have a working router at home. If you do, it’s worth finding out if you can use it with your new plan, instead of paying for a new one. Delivery charges Make sure you find out about all delivery costs if you are going to have new broadband hardware sent to you in the post. Most of the major ISPs will send you everything you need for free, but it’s worth checking so you don’t get stung for P&P.

For more information on broadband charges, see our guide broadband charges

With the current economic climate forcing everyone to make cut-backs and savings, it could be well worth your while to switch to a new broadband provider. Finding the cheapest broadband deals is easy using the table above. As utility bills go sky-high and it's reassuring to know you can find a great cheap broadband deal to make savings without sacrifcing your connection!

Rather see cheap mobile broadband deals? You can compare cheap mobile broadband deals here: cheap mobile broadband