Laptop Broadband Deals Not Good Value For Money Finds Survey

A survey conducted by broadband comparison website BroadbandGenie found out that more than 60 percent of the respondents felt that the free laptop deals were not good value.

Surprisingly enough, only 15 percent, less than one in six of those taking part, said that free (or rather subsidised) laptop deals were worth it.

Broadband Genie editor Chris Marling commented on the data saying that "Mobile broadband has been getting a pretty rough ride in the press recently, and a lack of consumer confidence in the product could be a key contributor to this result."

It seems that many consumers are coming to terms with the fact that the long commitment - two years is common place - is in reality a hire purchase scheme, one where the purchaser only owns the laptop at the end of the contract.

A quick look around on some networks show that the cheapest "free laptop" broadband deal costs £20 per month at least, that's £480 for the duration of the contract with 1GB worth of data transfer.

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In comparison, buying a laptop and the broadband package separately would cost around the same price. The Acer Aspire One D150 costs £220 only and 24 months at £10, bringing the total to £460, not far from the £480.