How it works

You should use this section of callcosts if you wish to compare the combined costs of broadband with line rental and telephone call charges. The home phone and broadband calculator is an indicative tool that may assist you in selecting a particular price plan, or combination of price plans either with your existing operator or indeed with a new service provider.

Please note: when comparing tariffs on this site you may also wish to consider factors other than price that may be important to you such as customer service, billing and payment options, contractual commitments and broadband support provided.

In respect of the broadband service you should note that availability of broadband can vary by location. On callcosts you can filter results to check whether a particular broadband service is available in your county. There is also a link to the broadband providers website where more specific availability information can be obtained.

There are five simple steps to complete in this section of the site.

Step 1: Enter home phone usage details

The first step is to enter your home phone usage details. For your domestic call usage you are asked to enter when you make most calls and how many minutes you use for local, national and mobile calls.

For international call usage you are again asked to indicate when you make most calls.
The reason this question is asked twice is because people's international calling pattern can be very different to their domestic calling pattern. You can then select up to three destinations from a list of popular countries.

Once you have entered this information, you can choose to 'Now Enter Broadband Details' or you can 'Enter More Detailed Usage' and refine your specific usage details. Please note, before doing so you should read the model assumptions and the terms and conditions governing the use of the website as you will be asked to indicate that you understand and fully accept them before moving to the next screen.

Step 2: Enter more detailed home phone usage (optional)

This is the second step on the home phone and broadband calculator (which is optional). Here you can see more detail as to how callcosts.ie uses the model assumptions along with the home phone usage details you supplied in Screen 1 to generate a cost comparison. For example, the minutes you entered are distributed

across peak, off peak and weekend timeframes for all call types
across the different mobile networks, based on the market share for mobile operators

You can change the information on this screen. For example, if you consider that you use more of your minutes at a particular time of day and/or call people on one network more frequently than people on other networks.

One other consideration on this screen relates to 'same network' rates. A number of operators offer free or reduced rates if the person you are calling is also one of their customers. In callcosts you can indicate if the people you call are predominantly with one operator. If you select yes you will be asked to indicate who that operator is and what percentage of your minutes are to people with this operator.

Step 3: Now Enter Broadband Usage

For your broadband usage you are first asked to indicate whether you wish to compare ‘always on’ or 'time based' broadband tariff options. With always on plans your monthly charge is fixed regardless of the amount of time you are connected to the internet. Time based broadband plans include a set amount of hours for you to connect to the internet. Once you go beyond this you pay for additional time connected. If you select ‘don’t mind’ your comparison will provide details on both plan types.

You next need to indicate your broadband usage details. You are asked what download speed you require. If you are not sure just select the don’t mind option. You may also be asked to enter the amount of time you spend online per month. You are now ready to view a comparison of broadband plans and to do this you click on the ‘Get Results Now’ button.

Step 4: Get results

Once you have entered your home phone and broadband usage details and clicked on the 'Get Results Now' button you are provided with a list of price plans ranked according to their average monthly cost.

The results screen includes tariff plans where an operator offers broadband and home phone services for one monthly fee. The comparison also brings together operator plan combinations (for plans that have separate monthly fees).

As well as the monthly cost the results screen includes important information about each price plan such as download speed, contention rates, contract length, customer service hours & billing and payment options for both home phone and broadband services.

There are filters available on this screen that allow you to sort the tariffs by operator or based on general availability in your county. Please note: You can filter your result by county however this doe not definitively mean that the broadband service is available in your county. To confirm availability you will need to check with the broadband service provider. There is also a link on the results page over to the operators website if you wish to confirm availability in your area.

Having viewed each broadband option you can then look at more specific details on any of the tariffs featured in the results screen by clicking on the 'Tariff Name'

Step 5: View combined plan details

This is the final step in the home phone and broadband calculator. Here you can look at specific details of a service providers price plan. This page includes pricing, customer service and operator contact details as well as other relevant information.

Whilst the website tries to capture important details about a price plan it is advised that you confirm all terms and conditions with the broadband provider before signing up to any contract.