It's a new year and all the main broadband providers have come out with some excellent deals to attract new customers. To help you save, we’ve rounded up the best one below.
As we start this new year in these uncertain times, any chance we have to save a bit on our bills should be considered.
And a great place to save some money is on your broadband package.
Broadband can sometimes be left in the wayside when we’re switching our utilities as some consider it a hassle to change.
But broadband providers offer extremely attractive switching deals, with big discounts for new customers, and can also provide your mobile and television needs if required.
And as a lot of providers now use the same infrastructure, like SIRO (a joint venture between the ESB and Vodafone) or NBI (National Broadband Ireland), switching provider isn’t always an arduous process.
As it’s the new year, there are a number of enticing deals currently on offer, giving customers a chance to secure much faster broadband while saving on their monthly bills.
So, without further ado…
Sky
If you’re looking to upgrade your internet speed, Sky has two fibre deals which will be of interest.
Sky’s Ultrafast Plus broadband deal has speeds of up to 500Mb/s for a cut-price €33 a month for the first 12 months, with a saving of €384 over the contract length. This deal also includes a home phone package (Sky Talk Freetime), which comes with free calls to landlines on evenings and weekends.
The price will increase to €65 per month after the 12 months.
If you’re looking for even faster speeds, Sky’s Ultrafast Max comes in at a whopping 1Gb/s, ensuring quick downloads and no buffering on any of your streaming services.
Costing just €43 a month for the first 12 months, it offers a good opportunity for a customer to dip their toes into experiencing higher-speed WiFi without the normal high costs.
Like the Ultrafast package, it also includes Sky Talk Freetime, with the combined savings coming in at €324 for the year. The price will increase to €70 per month after the first 12 months.
Installation and activation are also free, just bear in mind that any fibre connection is location dependent.
Vodafone
Like Sky, Vodafone has two attractive packages for customers looking to improve their internet speeds and save on their monthly bills - and with an extra gift on top.
Exclusively when ordering through bonkers.ie, any Vodafone fibre broadband customer will receive a FREE Smart Home Starter Pack worth €99. And luckily for you, there are two great fibre deals right here.
In an exclusive bonkers.ie offer, customers can get 500mb/s fibre broadband and unlimited landline calls for just €35 a month on Vodafone’s Fibre 500 deal. And, that’s with the free starter pack gift on top of it.
The plan will rise to €65 a month after the 12 months, but at that point customers will have saved €360 on their annual bill.
And if you need the extra speed, you can upgrade to 1Gb/s download speeds for just an extra €10 a month through the Vodafone Gigabit deal, saving €360 before the plan increases to €75 after the 12 months.
The deals come with free activation, although an installation fee of €50 may occur, depending on the location.
Eir
If you’re looking for greater stability going into the future, then your best bet may be with one of Eir’s packages.
That’s because Eir offers a number of broadband packages with a 24-month discounted rate, locking in your price for the next two years.
And with fibre capabilities of up to 1Gb/s, your high-speed internet needs could be secured going into the near future.
On top of this, Eir is also offering a month’s free internet with any deal - how’s that for value?
For €39.99 a month for 24 months, customers opting for the Eir 500Mb Broadband & Home Phone will receive download speeds of up to 500Mb and free off-peak landline calls.
This means that a customer will save €432 a year, including the free month, compared to the full-price package, bringing the total amount saved over the contract’s duration to just shy of €900.
For €49.99, customers can upgrade to 1Gb Fibre Broadband, with the same landline calls and 24-month contract as the previous offer.
However, bear in mind that the 500Mb/s deal will rise to €75.99 a month after the two years, with the 1Gb/s package rising to €85.99 also, which is a bit dearer than other providers.
Virgin
Virgin offers a number of highly reliable, easy-to-install broadband packages. There are no activation or installation fees, as the modem comes in the post and is self-installed by the customer (trust us, it’s very simple).
Virgin also offers high-speed broadband over a large geographical area, thanks to its own infrastructure and its new deal with SIRO, which allows Virgin to offer high speeds to even more customers, particularly those in smaller cities.
As Virgin also provides home TV options, its best deals come when combining both broadband and television for all of your home entertainment needs.
The 500Mb + Big TV gives customers speeds of up to 500Mb/s, 65 TV channels and all landline and mobile calls for just €54 for the first 12 months. Customers can double the available channels to 109 for just an extra €5 a month with the 500Mb + Bigger TV deal.
All in all these deals save around €540 over the year before the prices increase to €99 and €104 respectively.
If you’re looking for higher speeds, then you can get the same deal but with speeds of up to 1Gb/s, with the 1Gb + Bigger TV for €69 a month. There are savings of around €540 again before the price goes up to €114 after the conclusion of the deal.
Digiweb
Within the smaller, indigenous suppliers, there can be great value to be found. And Digiweb’s offerings are proving to be great value for all involved.
As its offers both SIRO and NBI services, Digiweb is able to cover a large part of the country with high-speed broadband. And it also has non-fibre broadband for those in hard-to-reach places.
Digiweb’s marquee offer comes from its SIRO offer, which is location dependent.
For just €29.95 a month (for the first four months), customers can avail of lightning quick 1Gb/s download speeds. The price does increase to €54.95 after the four months, and levels off at €59.95 after a year of the deal, but that is still the cheapest baseline full-fibre price going forward.
If you can’t avail of SIRO, it also has NBI deals in place if you are covered by that infrastructure.
Switching saves money
While the process can seem daunting, switching is the easiest way to save money on your monthly bills.
That’s because suppliers always reserve their best deals for new customers, and being loyal to your supplier isn’t likely to result in any new discounts or products.
You can compare and switch easily on bonkers.ie - and the best news is that it’s free! Compare the major broadband suppliers here.
Unsure about how to compare and switch broadband providers? Don’t worry, our broadband Quickstart Guide has you covered.
Want to read more?
We have a number of interesting reads if you’re interested in learning more about the broadband market in Ireland today:
- If you want to learn more about Vodafone and ESB’s partnership in SIRO, you can read our guide here.
- Have a burning question about your broadband connection or network? Here’s 9 common broadband questions answered.
- Confused by all of the technical terms and acronyms?! Here’s our handy guide on the 21 common broadband terms explained.
Get in touch
Are you thinking about switching your broadband supplier? Or are you going to stick it out with your current offering? Let us know! We’re on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.