While the majority of the UK adult population owns a mobile phone and the use of landlines is consistently dropping, we’re still paying line rentals on most broadband packages. It’s very likely to be because you think ‘this is how you have access to a broadband connection’, and not because you still use it to stay in touch with your family and friends.

What is line rental and why do we have to pay for it?

Line rental is not a charge for your home phone, it’s the cost of maintaining the copper lines and wires used to give you broadband, landline, and even some TV services. It’s a monthly fee paid for access to BT’s network and includes the charge to keep your connection and wires in top condition and repair faults with no extra fees. You may have noticed that most packages advertise this as ‘Free’, but whether it is actually free or already built into inflated costs is a subject for another time. This charge often comes in the form of the standard monthly fee, meaning it won’t be shown separately on your bill.

Line rental charges are treated as an essential service for home broadband and you get stuck with it. If you don’t need a phone line to make or receive calls, you no longer need to pay for one just so you can get a broadband connection.

Here’s how you get the service you need and save money on your broadband bill.

How to get broadband without line rental

First of all, your options for a broadband connection without line rental depend on what infrastructure is available in your location. A great option is to go full fibre. Fibre broadband is a type of high-speed broadband that uses fibre optic cables from your local broadband exchange right to your home. Fibre cables are better than standard copper cables at delivering high-speed data over a long distance which makes it the most reliable and future-proofed connectivity technology in the world today. This means there’s a greater capacity for you and your family to go online and enjoy all the things you want to do – gaming, streaming or surfing.

Still unsure about switching to full-fibre? Check out the key benefits of fibre broadband for residential users.

Another popular and reliable type of broadband which bypasses line rental is mobile broadband. This technology provides wireless high-speed internet access to your portable devices – mobile phones, laptops, or tablets, for example. The actual Internet connection is delivered via mobile phone towers over a mobile phone network.

You can choose from a selection of contract lengths to match your required dates, meaning you won’t pay for a longer contract than needed or pay any associated early cancellation fees. There are no installation costs and it is a great value alternative for when you’re out and about.

Using similar infrastructures to GPS, satellite TV and weather forecasting, satellite broadband offers a stable and uniform connection without line rental. This is a popular service for hard-to-reach, rural locations. The downside is that satellite broadband suffers from high latency due to the amount of time it takes to transmit the signal from your home to the orbiting satellite. Also, the equipment you need could cost over £500, and tariff prices also tend to be higher with usage limits.

The benefits of broadband-only services

Faster and more reliable internet connection.  Without voice traffic on the same network, your speed is higher and your connection becomes more reliable. Another key benefit is that faults with the line should be easier and quicker to fix as there is no phone line involved in the equation.  Also, a broadband-only service means you don’t have to install the unnecessary phone line and can get a better deal.

But what if you prefer to keep the services of a phone line?

We’ve got you! Getting a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service will allow you to make or receive calls on a handset via the internet. Have you ever used Skype or WhatsApp? Then you’ve already used a VoIP service.

You can find out more information about our residential packages here. If you have any questions for us, get in touch with us and we will help you choose the right package for you.