firstly, bear with me as i'm a total technophobe

i use my mobile for just essential calls etc - do not text or use 'aps' or internet access - currently have a nokia on virgin payg

home phone and broadband is by BT - i live in a rural area with very slow connection speeds and no choice of alternative suppliers

i'm not bothered about slow broadband speeds as i don't download movies/music etc etc

BUT

i got my latest bill this am at about £330 from BT - most seems to be service charges/rentals etc - plus i get stung to ring friends who only have mobiles

SO A CHANGE IS NEEDED

ideally tell bt to get stuffed

so my options as i understand technology

a) get a mobile on contract and use this for all my phone calls

b) get my broadband by a 'dongle'?

so fire away - all help gratefully received

Broadband by a dongle will depend on what coverage is like in your area - where I am we have crap mobile broadband/3g and my iPhone and iPad both revert to even slower GPRS so you are back at 56k again or I use my wifi in the house. I complained to my ISP (Plusnet) that my broadband just disappeared in the evenings after 4pm until 11pm/midnight when suddenly it would return to >2mbps. I changed tariff to a cheaper one (I had not changed in 7 years because apart from the above I was happy with the service) I don't know what Plusnet did to my line (BT copperwire to the exchange 1km away) but now I'm getting nearly 3mbps broadband most of the day. 2018 Mini Countryman Cooper S E All4 PHEV in Melting Silver - it’s whisper quiet in EV and polluter modes

I'm with Utility Warehouse, £28 per month for broadband, including line rental, and free calls. I also take gas and electricity from them, and it's all on one bill. The great thing for me, is that they offer a cashback card, which gives 5% back against our bill if we shop at certain retailers, including Sainsburys, so we get cashback on groceries and fuel, and that more than covers the phone bill.

They also offer mobile. I don't know if this is the best deal around, but they have a great rating from Which magazine, which I subscribe to, they seem to have best buy ratings in all the categories. Plus it's pretty convenient to have it all on one bill. Only problem so far as I'm concerned is, like you, I live in the sticks, and since UW use BT services, I can't get a very fast broadband service. Also because BT haven't upgraded our exchange, we don't get the best deal on broadband (which would save us £8 per month. Apparently because BT can't be arsed to upgrade our exchange, they retain the right to charge an extra £8 per month (don't know how that works).

UW have a load of options to make cheap calls to mobiles etc, but to be honest you're better to call mobiles from a mobile, I don't have my mobile with them since I have a business contract, but they are highly rated by Which on the mobile side too.

Not saying this is best, but it's worked well for us for the last couple of years, I'm sure others will have suggestions, the weblink for UW is:
https://www.utilitywarehouse.co.uk/home/in...1431[/url] 2012 SDV8 Vogue SE

thanks guys - food for thought