Broadband giveaways: “would you like a free laptop with that?”

Everyone likes the idea of receiving something for nothing - so the decision by broadband service providers such as Orange and AOL to offer free laptops to those signing up to a two-year contract will be well received by consumers.

However, before signing along the dotted line, independent online price comparison and switching service, uSwitch.com, warns those tempted by this offer to consider two points very carefully - the level of customer service and the connection speed on offer. If consumers find they are unhappy with the service later down the line, or wish to upgrade, signing to a two-year contract could be a costly mistake. Penalty charges will be incurred for cancelling the contract and consumers could find themselves continuing to pay for a service they no longer receive.

Customer Service: 1 in 5 broadband users cite good customer service as the main reason for choosing their broadband provider. However, 2 out of 5 broadband users are not currently satisfied with the level of customer service they receive, according to uSwitch.com’s recent customer satisfaction poll of over 10,000 UK broadband users. Orange, the first company to offer ‘free’ laptops to customers signing up to a two-year broadband deal, has seen levels of satisfaction amongst its customers fall 18% over the last 14 months. It has come bottom of the satisfaction poll for the second time running - something consumers should maybe bear in mind before locking themselves into a two-year deal with the company. AOL, on the other hand, which is pre-registering customers for a laptop deal to arrive later this year, has received much better scores from its customers, coming top of the poll in both the customer support and technical support categories.

Broadband Speeds: Another important consideration before committing to a 24 month contract is the speed of the service. Internet speeds are likely to increase next year with speeds of up to 24Mb becoming much more widely available. Consumers signing up to the current Orange broadband deal with a speed of 2Mb may end up having to pay a premium to upgrade to a faster connection an increasingly important requirement for customers that enjoy downloading films, music and television programmes.

Steve Weller, Head of Communications Services at uSwitch comments: “Before being lured by the freebies on offer we urge consumers to take service and speed into consideration to avoid future disappointment with their service. However, for those consumers in need of a new laptop or those people signing up to broadband for the first time, these deals represent great value for money. At a cost of £337.29 over two years, Orange broadband customers get a laptop worth £300. This effectively means that their broadband service will only cost them a little over £37 across two years. Later this year AOL will offer customers a £500 laptop at a cost of just £479.76 over two years, which again offers fantastic value.”

Weller concludes: “I believe that these offers will mark the beginning of new price war, as more providers compete to provide the best broadband service whilst offering the most attractive laptop. It is already a very competitive market and ultimately the consumer will stand to gain.”