The A to Z of broadband

Landlines

Most free broadband websites are bundled with a landline, which might seem a bit like selling a chocolate teapot with your PG Tips considering the rise of fat-pipe-fuelled VoIP has led to many traditional telephone receivers languishing in their cradles.

Carphone Warehouse's TalkTalk service threw down the gauntlet of 'free broadband forever' in the UK, which included free landline calls locally, nationally and to 28 foreign countries for an extra £11 line rental, on top of the £9.99 per month fee.

The list from A to Z

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A is for ADSL
B is for BT
C is for Cable & Wireless
D is for Dial-up
E is for Education
F is for Fibre
G is for Goonhilly
H is for HSDPA
I is for In-flight
J is for Janet
K is for Kingston
L is for Landlines
M is for Murdoch
N is for Next generation
O is for Ofcom
P is for Power lines
Q is for Quad-play
R is for Remote working
S is for Satellite phones
T is for Trains
U is for Unbundling
V is for VoIP
W is for WiMax
X is for Xbox
Y is for YouTube
Z is for Zombies

Other suitors quickly joined the 'free' broadband brigade with Orange, or the artist formerly known as Wanadoo, leaping in to offer existing customers who spend more than £30 on their mobile bill free broadband, and then BSkyB spending £250m to offer 'free' 2MB broadband with any Sky TV package.

With three companies now offering 'free' broadband, price comparison website uSwitch.com launched a comparison service to help users choose between Orange, Sky and TalkTalk.

Vodafone broke the broadband mould in September, by shunning unbundling and moving into fixed line broadband. Vodafone will now have to work hard to remain competitive against the 'free' broadband upstarts, as its service is limited by standard BT line speeds of up to 8Mbps.