TV and broadband packages

[paralysedbyinertia]

I'd really appreciate some advice about TV and broadband packages, and how to get the best deal, as I feel that we always end up paying over the odds but I don't really know how to change it. We're currently with Virgin - fast fibre broadband/basic TV package.

We need fast broadband as DH and I will both be wfh at least a couple of days each week, with lots of Teams meetings etc. Reliability is therefore key. We also stream stuff quite a bit, though no gaming if that makes any difference.

I don't know if we need a phone line. We barely use it, but I think it's still a requirement for most broadband packages. We are planning to switch mobile phone providers as well, if that is relevant.

We don't watch loads of TV, so don't really need more than a fairly basic package. We already have Netflix and Amazon Prime. DH does really like to have access to international news channels but would forgo this if it was necessary. What we do need is the facility to record/pause/rewind live TV as we are so used to this now. However, I'm not sure if we need a contract for this or if it would be cheaper in the long run to just buy a PVR box.

I keep googling and doing price comparisons, but I'm not really any the wiser. Does anyone have any advice or suggestions about what might work best? What broadband speed is the minimum we should consider if, say, DH and I are doing video calls at the same time (or worst case scenario and dd is doing video lessons too!) What type of package I should be looking for? Any companies to recommend or avoid?

I would be grateful for any wisdom that anyone can share! TIA.

Bump

I can’t help too much @paralysedbyinertia. We are with virgin too and in my experience they are my far the best for broadband. We have two people working from home full time and are on the 200 package and it’s fine, plus we stream loads etc.

I have found the best thing to do is call and tell them you are leaving, actually give notice. And then they call and give a better deal. We have just done that and ended our tv contract, but I will probably get tv back again when I can get a better deal from them. Virgin seem to make you have the phone line by saying it’s cheaper to have it than not. Who knows why.

Only other broadband provider I have had in recent years was sky who were decent (better customer service than virgin too) but we can’t get it where I am now.

We ditched the tv service, we have Freeview and Netflix and that's plenty. We have our phoneline and broadband with Plusnet who have been very good.

People tend to overestimate the speed of broadband they actually require. Super fast fibre broadband is only really needed if you're doing intensive online gaming, which you've said you aren't. We have Plusnet broadband. Pay about £200 line renal up front then £6 per month. More than fast enough to stream/video call on multiple devices at once. We have a Youview Box for TV. Allows you to record, pause & rewind live TV. You can also acces Netflix, Prime etc through it. We have a phone line, but no landline plugged in and I don't even know what the number is!

Plusnet also have good mobile deals for broadband customers. I currently pay £7 per month for 10gb sim-only deal.

Have you thought about binning the tv licence and using Amazon prime & Netflix only?

Be careful about switching. Virgin have their own fibre network. Everyone uses Openreach lines. Check what speed package you are currently on and what can be offered by competitors. It may be very different. My mum has a 150MBps package with Virginand has always wanted to change, but the only other service available has a guaranteed speed of just 10Mbps. That is the speed of the Openreach line, so doesn't matter if she goes to BT, Plusnet, TalkTalk or someone else.

Plusnet are owned by BT but run on a budget and charge less. I made the mistake of moving from Sky to them, the router was really poor quality and I could no longer get WiFi in every room that I was able to with the sky router. My DS at the time would watch kids YouTube in my bed while I showered in the mornings. I couldn't do that anymore and it drove us both to tears on many occasions.

If you're both working for home, consider the extra cost an investment in work. Like having a reliable car. Your broadband is now your transport to work, for the sake of £5 a month or so, would you really risk moving from something that is working well for you?

Get an Amazon firestick and download nowplex watch anything you want, me and boyfriend don’t have a problem with ilwhat we wanna watch now, we can watch Disney Plus Amazon Prime , Netflix US & UK, Apple TV SKY entertainment & movies ,Live TV BT Sports & Sky Sports
It’s £23 a month l, stopped paying £100 a month and never looked back

You can just get broadband only package (yes, Plusnet one of the cheapest) and PP said Amazon Firestick, which you plug (USB) into back of your TV. It's a streaming platform which you can run your Netflix, Prime and any other streaming apps.

We have There's 5g broadband which doesn't require a landline. It costs £22 a month with no data limits and we get 140 to 180 mbps. Brilliant!

We were with Sky for years paying close to £100 a month for the basic package! They kept increasing the price every now and then. It was a crap service internet wise!
I am now with TalkTalk at £32 a month for the same thing. I also have Netflix. We are in the north east and have lost our tv service due to the Bilsdale transmitter fire and haven’t had tv for a couple of months but we use Netflix most of the time so I’ve just cancelled the tv license.

Oh, and highly recommend TalkTalk! Excellent service.