5 Best Broadband And Anytime Calls Deals | Unlimited Data

Looking for a broadband deal with unlimited usage and anytime calls?

In this guide, we’ve reviewed the 5 best broadband deals with anytime calls in the UK right now.

After, we’ve explained what to look for when choosing a broadband and phone package, to help you find the right deal for your specific needs.

Quick comparison table

FREE ANYTIME CALLS

Vodafone

Pro Xtra

Value rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Price

Check on Vodafone

BEST VALUE

NOW Broadband

Super Fibre

Value rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Price

Check on NOW Broadband

FLEXIBLE CALLING PACKS

Plusnet

Unlimited Fibre

Value rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Price

Check on Plusnet

FREE ANYTIME CALLS

Vodafone Broadband

Pro Xtra

Value rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Price

Check on Vodafone

BEST VALUE

Shell Energy Broadband

Super Fibre

Value rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Price

Check on NOW Broadband

FLEXIBLE CALLING PACKS

Plusnet

Unlimited Fibre

Value rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Price

Check on Plusnet

Best unlimited broadband and anytime calls deals

Let’s begin our reviews.

Below, we’ve looked at the best unlimited broadband deals with anytime calls available in 2023.

1. Vodafone Pro Xtra

Vodafone’s Pro Xtra broadband plans aren’t cheap, in terms of their monthly cost, and they require you enter into a 24 month contract.

However, these deals all come with anytime calls to UK numbers. You don’t have to worry about per-minute calling charges.

Also, there are a heap of other benefits thrown in with Vodafone Pro Xtra.

For starters, you can get download speeds of more than 900 Mbps, if you live somewhere with full fibre broadband, as well as unlimited downloads.

And as a Pro Xtra customer, you get a 4G broadband backup device, which helps to keep you online if your home broadband connection ever drops out.

You also get a free Apple TV, which you can use to watch your favourite streaming services, as well as three months of access to Apple TV+.

If the Apple TV isn’t of interest, you could also sell the device once you receive it, to make back some money. The main benefit of Vodafone Pro Xtra is you can make unlimited landline calls, for no additional charge.

However, these Vodafone broadband deals are quite expensive. There’s no upfront cost, which is great, but the monthly cost is quite high.

2. NOW Broadband Super Fibre

NOW Broadband used to include free anytime calls with all of their broadband plans. This isn’t on offer any more, but their broadband deals are very good value, and it’s easy to add unlimited landline calls for a reasonable monthly cost.

Compared to most other broadband providers, NOW Broadband’s anytime call plans are quite cheap.

You can get just evening and weekend calls to save some money, and anytime calls to UK landlines and mobiles are also on offer for only a slightly higher monthly cost.

Speaking of value, with Super Fibre, you get a 63 Mbps average download speed for a very reasonable monthly cost, and only a 12 month contract, with just a £5 setup fee.

Also, NOW Broadband is one of the only providers in the UK that allows you to buy a broadband deal on a month-to-month contract. Just be aware that if you do this, you’ll have to pay a much higher setup cost.

Overall, it is a bit disappointing that NOW has removed free unlimited home phone calls from their broadband plans. However, despite this, they still offer some of the cheapest broadband and anytime calls deals in the UK at the moment.

It’s also worth noting, Super Fibre is NOW Broadband’s fastest plan. They only offer superfast broadband deals, up to 63 Mbps, rather than ultrafast packages.

3. Plusnet Unlimited Fibre w/ Anytime Calls

Plusnet are a great value-for-money choice if you want broadband with anytime calls.

Their regular broadband deals aren’t the fastest, but their monthly costs are quite good, and there are no setup fees. You also get unlimited broadband usage included.

Also, Plusnet now offers full fibre to the home broadband, if you can get this type of service where you live. With these full fibre plans, you can get download speeds of up to 900 Mbps, just like with Vodafone.

Line rental is included in the monthly costs, and Plusnet gives you the flexibility to choose whether you want evening and weekend calls, unlimited UK calls, or unlimited international calls – simply choose the package you want as an add-on.

The main downside to Plusnet is they have an 18 month minimum contract. There aren’t any short-term deals available (if this is what you’re after, NOW Broadband, who we’ve reviewed above, is a better choice).

Also, while Plusnet’s inclusive calling deals come with unlimited UK landline calls, they only include 2000 minutes to mobile numbers in the UK. Generally, this isn’t a big deal – this is plenty of minutes to use calling mobile numbers, for most households – it’s more than an hour of calls a day.

4. Shell Energy Broadband Superfast Fibre + Anytime Call Plan

Although Shell doesn’t include free anytime calls, their broadband deals are great value for money, even if you add an inclusive calling package.

This is especially true if you’re an existing Shell Energy customer, since you’ll be entitled to a discount off the monthly cost.

There are no upfront costs, no matter whether you choose Superfast Fibre, which offers a 38 Mbps average download speed, or Full Fibre 500, which gives you a 525 Mbps average download speed. However, it’s important to note, Shell’s full fibre broadband plans don’t come with a landline phone connection.

Each Shell Energy Broadband plan is only available on an 18 month contract – there are no short term plans available. However, Shell’s monthly costs are very reasonable, and they include unlimited broadband usage, as well as line rental, free of charge.

Once you choose a broadband plan, you can add a calling package. The best one for most people is the “Anytime Call Plan”, which gives you anytime calls to UK numbers. There is also a slightly more expensive one which offers inclusive calls to EU landline numbers as well.

The inclusive calling minute plans are relatively cheap, although they’re not quite as cheap as with some other broadband providers.

The main downside to Shell is their customer service. They’re not the most responsive at fixing broadband connection or Wi-Fi issues, which is a bit of a shame.

5. Virgin Media M125 + Talk More Anytime

The problem with most ultrafast broadband providers is they sell their full fibre broadband deals without a landline phone connection. This isn’t the case with Virgin Media.

If you’re looking for fast broadband with anytime calls, Virgin Media is a great choice.

When you go to their website, most of the plans will have the “Talk More Weekends” calling package. This enables you to call UK landlines and mobiles at the weekend.

If you go through the checkout process, eventually you will see the option to customise your broadband and calls deal. Here, you can choose “Talk More Anytime”, to get inclusive anytime calls for a fairly reasonable price.

Although the process of getting anytime calls with Virgin Media is a bit tricky, it’s worth it if you want average download speeds of 1000 Mbps or more. Their M125 plan offers 132 Mbps, which is plenty for most households, and is much cheaper.

Also, Virgin Media’s monthly costs are generally very reasonable, given the speeds you get, although there normally is a decent upfront cost.

The main downside to Virgin Media is it can be a bit tricky to get set up – normally an engineer visit is required. Since they use different broadband infrastructure to other providers, getting started can be a bit complex.

What you need to know

In this part, we’ve explained how broadband and anytime calls deals are sold, how to choose the right provider, and what to look out for when buying a broadband and landline package.

Which broadband providers offer broadband with unlimited phone calls?

There are currently a number of British broadband providers that offer broadband and phone deals with anytime calls.

However, these plans are structured a bit differently, depending on the provider.

• Shell Energy Broadband (pay more for an inclusive calls add-on)
• Plusnet (pay for a calling pack add-on)
• Vodafone (anytime calls included for free for the first 24 months, but only on Pro Xtra plans)
• NOW Broadband (pay more for anytime or evening/weekends calls, as an add-on)
• BT (pay more for an inclusive calls add-on)
• EE (pay more for an inclusive calls add-on)
• TalkTalk (pay more for an inclusive calls add-on)
• Virgin Media (pay more for a variant of one of their broadband deals that comes with evening/weekend calls to landlines or Virgin mobiles, or pay more for an inclusive calls add-on)
• Direct Save Telecom (pay more for an inclusive calls add-on)

Which broadband provider offers the cheapest broadband with anytime calls?

If you’re looking for the cheapest unlimited broadband and phone package, NOW Broadband is your best bet.

NOW Broadband does charge more for anytime calls, as of June 2022, however their calling add-ons aren’t massively expensive. Since their broadband monthly costs are so low, NOW Broadband is typically the cheapest broadband and anytime calls provider, even though anytime calls are not included for free.

Which broadband providers offer unlimited broadband usage?

Since March 2020, all British broadband providers now offer unlimited downloads and uploads with their home broadband plans.

You no longer need to worry about hitting any usage limits when using your broadband, as long as you’re using a traditional fixed-line connection. These days, it’s only alternate ways of getting online, such as using a dongle, that have usage restrictions.

Is unlimited broadband truly unlimited?

British broadband providers used to have “fair usage” limits on their unlimited broadband plans. This meant that even though a broadband plan had unlimited data, you weren’t always allowed to make unlimited downloads, depending on the conditions in the fair usage agreement.

However, these days, unlimited broadband is completely unlimited – you don’t have to worry about downloading or uploading too much data.

The only restriction on most home broadband plans these days is what you can use them for. This will be outlined in the provider’s acceptable use policy.

The acceptable use policy typically states that you cannot use your home broadband for business purposes, except for working from home. However, provided you’re not doing this, you can use as much data as you’d like each month with unlimited broadband.

Things to watch out for when buying a broadband and calls package

You might think that when buying a broadband deal with anytime calls, you’ll get just that – the ability to make unlimited calls to UK landlines or mobile phones, at any time you like.

This is true in the vast majority of cases. However, there are still some things to watch out for when buying these types of broadband and landline phone packages:

• Some providers might only include anytime calls to landlines, and a limited number of calling minutes to UK mobiles.
• Some providers might only include calls to mobile phones on their network, with certain calling bundles. Virgin Media for example does this on their cheapest calling package.
• At the end of your contract, you might begin to pay significantly more for unlimited calls. This is especially likely if you receive free anytime calls for the first part of the contract.
• There may be fair use policies. For example, you might not be allowed to use unlimited calling allowances to run a business, with people on the phone all the time. This will vary from provider to provider.

How much does it cost to get anytime calls?

With the vast majority of broadband providers, you will have to pay more to get inclusive anytime calls.

Either, you will have to choose a calling minutes add-on, to pair with an unlimited broadband plan, which will increase your monthly cost. Or, you might have to choose a different version of a given broadband plan, which includes anytime calls.

You will find that to get inclusive anytime calls to UK landlines and mobiles, this will typically cost you about an extra £6-£8 per month with most broadband providers.

However, you don’t always have to pay more to get the ability to make unlimited landline calls. With Vodafone for example, they include anytime calls up to 60 minutes long to UK landlines and mobiles during the initial 24 month contract.

Do I need to pay for line rental?

In the UK, the vast majority of broadband connections are served using your landline. Therefore, to get broadband, you will most likely need to pay for line rental, even if you never use your home phone.

Fortunately, line rental is included in the monthly cost of most broadband plans. You don’t need to worry about paying more for it on your bill – it’s already part of the quoted monthly cost.

Can you get inclusive calls with fibre broadband?

You might notice that when browsing some broadband providers’ websites, they state that their calling add-ons are not available with their full fibre broadband packages. Shell Energy Broadband is one provider that current states this.

However, in the vast majority of cases, you can still get a landline phone service with anytime calls, even if you have a full fibre (900+ Mbps) broadband connection. BT Broadband and Virgin Media for example both offer this service.

With superfast broadband, which has a download speed of 24-300 Mbps, or ultrafast broadband, which has a download speed of 300-900 Mbps, you’ll be able to get anytime calls as well.

Can you get unlimited inclusive international calls?

Most broadband deals with anytime calls only include calls to UK landlines and mobile phones.

However, with some broadband providers, you can get international calls included as well, by buying a separate international calls package.

The way this works depends on the provider, but most of time, only certain international countries will be included, and you won’t be able to make unlimited international calls. Instead, you’ll get a certain amount of international minutes included each month.

For example, with BT, their add-on includes anytime calls to 36 countries, but only to landline numbers, as well as cheaper rates to other overseas countries.

You can expect to pay about £8-£12 for an international calls add-on, with the broadband providers that offer these deals.

Do I need unlimited calls, or should I pay per minute?

If you use your home phone without having an inclusive calls package, you’ll pay a per-minute fee. You might also pay a call connection charge for each call that you make.

Typically, the connection charge is about 20-25p, and the per-minute rate is about 15p to landlines, or 17p to mobiles. Therefore, a 20 minute call would cost about £3.25, to another landline phone.

If you only make one or two short calls a month, then it might not be worth paying for an unlimited broadband deal with anytime calls. However, if you do make at least an hour’s worth of calls using your home phone each month, then having unlimited phone calls can save you quite a lot of money over the long term.

Can I keep my landline number when changing broadband provider?

It’s quite easy to keep your landline phone number when switching broadband providers.

All you need to do is let your new provider know that you’d like to keep your home phone number, and provide your number to them, if they ask for it.

They’ll then transfer the number to your new broadband connection as you make the switch.

Conclusion

This is the end of our buyer’s guide to broadband plans that come with unlimited usage and anytime calls.

Remember, you might not need unlimited phone calls, depending on how often you use your home phone. You might be able to save some money by buying an evening and weekend call package, or even by paying as you go.

If you’re not sure which broadband and calls package to buy, leave us a comment below, and we’ll get right back to you.

About the author

Tyler Bevan

Tyler built his first PC at the age of 12, and since then, he’s become obsessed with all things networking and internet-related. He’s a massive gamer, loves Rocket League, and also plays Sunday League football.