Looking for a mobile phone and broadband deal?
In this buyer’s guide, we’ve reviewed the 3 best broadband deals that come with benefits for mobile phone or SIM customers.
We’ve also explained some things to look for when shopping for bundled broadband and mobile deals.
Quick comparison table
Best broadband and mobile phone deals
Let’s begin our reviews.
Below, we’ve looked at the top 5 best deals on broadband and mobile phones in the UK right now.
1. EE Mobile Data Boost & 10% Discount
Out of any broadband provider in the UK, EE provides the most benefits for broadband and mobile customers.
As a new or existing pay monthly phone or EE SIM customer, you’ll get 5GB added onto your monthly data allowance if you buy EE broadband.
And as a new or existing pay monthly phone customer who signs up to EE Fibre Max broadband, on their 145Mbps, 300Mbps or 900Mbps average speed deal, you’ll get a 20GB monthly data boost.
Plus, on top of each of these discounts, EE pay monthly mobile customers also get 10% off their broadband monthly cost for the first 24 months.
Whether you buy EE Fibre Max broadband, or one of their cheaper broadband deals, they offer good benefits for mobile phone or SIM customers. While most other providers offer just a single benefit for broadband and phone customers, EE gives you both a data boost and a lower monthly cost, which is great.
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2. BT Broadband and Mobile £5 off Per Month
When compared to EE’s discount, BT Mobile’s offer works the other way around. Rather than giving you a discount on your broadband, BT gives you £5 off the monthly cost of your mobile plan.
The discount is available on most of their pay monthly mobile and pay monthly SIM deals. To see which packages you can get £5 off on, simply go to BT’s website and select the “I have BT Broadband” checkbox.
It’s also worth mentioning that to be eligible, you don’t need to be the BT account holder to get a reduced monthly cost. You simply need to live in a household with BT Broadband, whether you’re the homeowner, a flatmate, or have parents who are BT customers.
BT has also just introduced a new discount for broadband customers looking for a new phone deal. Essentially, if you have BT Broadband, you can get 10% off selected EE pay monthly mobile plans. You can view more details here.
The only downside to these offers from BT is they don’t offer any extras, such as bonus data. However, the discounts they offer are actually quite good – £5 off per month means you save £60 per year, or enough to pay for about two months of broadband service.
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3. Vodafone Broadband and Mobile Free Gifts
Vodafone has very recently introduced a free gift offer. It’s available to pay monthly mobile customers who sign up for one of their fixed-line broadband packages.
By default, most Vodafone broadband plans come with a free gift. However, extra rewards are available for mobile customers.
If you’re on a Vodafone pay monthly mobile plan, SIM only airtime plan or SIM only data plan and you buy Vodafone Broadband, you’ll get a free Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K and an Amazon Echo Dot, valued at about £100 in total.
These Vodafone Broadband free gifts are on top of the other bonuses available with Vodafone Pro Xtra. If you buy this deal, you also get 12 months Norton 360 Premium antivirus, a free Apple TV 4K, and 3 months of Apple TV+.
If you don’t particularly want the Amazon tech pack, you can always sell it for about £80 or so. Just be aware that if you sign up for Vodafone broadband, you’ll need to lock into a 24 month contract.
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What you need to know
Now we’ll explain a bit more about home broadband and mobile phone deals, so you can find the best value for money package for your specific needs.
Which providers offer broadband and mobile deals?
Many British broadband providers have recently branched out into mobile phone offerings. Likewise, mobile phone companies have begun to offer home broadband deals.
For example, BT began offering SIM plans on the EE network in 2015, and Vodafone began offering home broadband in the same year.
Currently, BT, EE and Vodafone offer special deals and other benefits for broadband and mobile customers, helping you save money if you use both services.
What types of broadband and mobile deals are available?
Typically, there are three different types of broadband and mobile deals that are offered to new customers.
- Discounts on either broadband or pay monthly phones/SIM plans
- Bonus data on pay monthly mobile/SIM plans
- Free gifts for broadband and mobile customers
The first two types are the most common deals available. Free gifts are only available from Vodafone, and only as limited-time offers.
Benefits of broadband and phone deals
There are a number of benefits to using the same provider for your home broadband and mobile phone.
- Saving money or getting extra data/free gifts – as we just discussed above, you can get access to exclusive discounts and bonuses if you go for a broadband and phone deal.
- Simplicity – if you like a given provider’s broadband, it makes sense to use their mobile service as well, since you’ll be able to manage your billing from the same place. Using the same provider for your broadband and phone can make things that little bit simpler.
Downsides of broadband and phone deals
However, there are also a number of downsides to bundling your broadband and phone plan.
- Limited choice – currently, only three UK broadband providers offer broadband and phone deals. This means that there is a limited choice of phone deals available that come with a broadband package and vice versa.
- Limited flexibility – with a broadband and phone deal, you’re restricted to using the same provider. You can’t, for example, get an ultrafast broadband connection from a premium provider, and pair this with a cheap SIM deal. You’ll have to use the same company, so you need to know that they provide the level of broadband and mobile service that you’re after, at a price that works for you.
- You need to be in a contract – you can’t bundle broadband with a pay as you go SIM, for example. As we’ll explain below, both services need to be used on a long term contract, or else you won’t get any discounts or benefits.
How to find the best broadband and mobile deal
To find a good combined broadband and phone deal, there’s a specific process that’s helpful to follow.
First, look for a broadband provider that meets your needs. It could be that the three providers that offer bonuses for mobile customers have contracts that are too long, or speeds that aren’t high enough. It could be that you need faster fibre broadband, meaning you have to go with a provider that doesn’t offer mobile deals, such as Hyperoptic.
If you like the look of either BT, EE, or Vodafone, try to find a match between a broadband deal and a phone or SIM plan that you like the look of. For example, you might like to buy one of EE’s more expensive SIM cards, to take advantage of their “Smart Benefits” – or monthly free gifts you can swap in and out. Then, you might like to pair it with their 145 Mbps fixed-line broadband, provided you can get Wi-Fi speeds this high where you live. Can you find a match between a broadband and phone deal that works for your specific needs?
Carefully plan how you will buy the deal. For example, with Vodafone, you get broadband discounts or free gifts if you’re already a mobile customer. Therefore, you will need to buy the phone deal first. If you’re going with BT or EE, it’s not such a big deal whether you join them on broadband or mobile first.
Broadband and home phone vs broadband and mobile phone
Broadband and home phone deals are much more common than broadband and mobile packages.
Nearly every major provider will offer broadband deals with included landline calling minutes, or even broadband and anytime calls.
However, if you mostly use your mobile phone, having a typical broadband and phone deal with inclusive minutes might not be all that helpful.
How do broadband and mobile contracts work?
When providers offer benefits to broadband and phone customers, it can work in one of two ways:
- You get a one-off bonus (like a free gift) when you sign up for a broadband or mobile contract
- You get an ongoing bonus (like a discount or extra data) when you are in a contract with both services
Broadband and mobile deals have separate contracts, which you will have the assess separately, even if you combine the two.
The broadband will typically be on an 18 month contract, or a 24 month agreement. If you get a pay monthly SIM, it will likely be on a 12 or 18 month contract, but a pay monthly phone deal will be longer – typically 24 months.
Can I get a discount by buying broadband from the same provider as my pay as you go phone?
In most cases, you cannot save money on a pay as you go phone plan by buying broadband from the same provider. As we just discussed above, you need to enter into a pay monthly contract, for both your broadband and phone, in order to qualify for discounts or free bonuses.
Can multiple people in my household take advantage of broadband and phone deals?
You might be wondering, if you have one home broadband connection but three smartphones in the house, can you save even more money?
With BT, you don’t get the BT Broadband discount on each SIM or phone plan in the house. However, by bundling SIMs into a family package, you save 20% on each additional SIM that you add. Then, the £5 discount is applied to this total cost.
With EE, you can only get one data boost per household.
Essentially, most broadband and phone packages don’t make you eligible for discounts on multiple pay monthly phone or SIM plans.
About the author
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.
