TalkTalk TalkTalk is offering fixed contract deals of up to two years
TalkTalk is offering fixed contract deals of up to two years, claiming its Faster Fibre Broadband package can save customers more than £400 compared to rivals BT, Virgin Media and Sky. The telecoms provider is offering customers deals freezing prices for 12, 18 and 24 months, and will even allow users to switch to a better deal mid-contract.

Talk Talk is offering customers the option to fix their broadband contract for up to two years, protecting against unexpected price hikes.

The provider claims locking into the fixed contracts could help save households as much as £425.75 over 24 months compared to equivalent deals from rivals.

But is it worth committing to a contract for two years? Given a recent wave of price hikes, it may be.

Should you just accept price rises? Talk Talk offers fixed contracts for up to two years

Last week BT announced a wave of price increases, including a £2 jump in monthly costs for those with copper broadband and £2.50 for infinity broadband customers, effective from April.

And this week Sky confirmed that it would increase line rental by £1.59 per month from March - an increase of 8.5 per cent.

This announcement came after This is Money spotted that a price hike could be on the cards thanks to some sneaky small print in a newspaper advertisement.

Unfortunately mid-contract price hikes are all too common, and something most broadband customers have come to expect.

In fact, according to Talk Talk, the four major broadband providers have hiked their prices 19 times collectively over the past two years.

While the price hikes may not add enough to our bills to overcome customers' inertia, over the course of a year a £2.50 bump to your monthly bill soon adds up, setting you back an extra £30 a year on top of your original contract price.

What you get from Talk Talk

Talk Talk customers can choose between speeds of up to 17Mb or 36Mb and freeze the price for 12, 18 or 24 months - and the provider will even allow customers to switch to a better deal mid-contract. There are two broadband deals to choose from if you want to fix your price.

HOW TO GET OUT OF YOUR CONTRACT Typically you would have to pay out the remainder of your contract if you want to cancel your agreement with your broadband provider early. But customers can get out of their contract without penalty if providers increase the price by more than inflation. To get out of your contract you must cancel within 30 days after being notified of a change in price. <!- - ad: https://mads.dailymail.co.uk/v8/ru/money/moneybills/article/other/mpu_factbox.html?id=mpu_factbox_1 - ->

The Talk Talk Faster Fibre Broadband deal comes with up to 38Mb speeds and no download caps.

The price you pay will depend on how long you commit to, choose a 12 or 18 month contract and you will pay £32 a month or fix for 24 months and you will be charged £28.50-a-month.

All the prices include line rental and come with an extra set up fee of £25.

The cheaper option, Fast Broadband, comes with a slower ADSL connection, offering speeds of up to 17MB and unlimited downloads.

Again this comes with a choice of fixing terms with slightly different costs.

Fix for 12 or 24 months and you pay £22.95 a month but if you want to fix for 18 months instead you will pay £25.50.

Both speeds come with a SIM card with 500MB of data a month and allow you to add calls or TV packages on top.

It will cost you an extra £7.50 to add unlimited UK calls to landlines and mobiles, and international calls packages cost between £2.50 and £7.50 a month extra.

If you want to get a standard TV box it will set you back £25 with a £8 monthly charge for a TV Plus Box and Entertainment. Any extra channels such as Sky cinema or sports costs even more on top.

Does it really work out cheaper?

According to Talk Talk, over the course of 24 months the Faster Fibre Broadband deal would work out much cheaper than the equivalent deals from Sky, Virgin Media and BT.

The most expensive deal the provider compared its price to was BT's Unlimited Infinity 1 deal costing £39.99 a month for 12 months; after that the price jumps to £47.49.

This brings the total two-year cost to £1,109.75 including the £59.99 set up fee - £425.75 more expensive than Talk Talk.

However, those who switch away from the BT deal and choose a more competitive deal after the first 12 months could likely pay much less.

Most providers offer attractive deals for the first 12 to 18 months, profiting the most when customer inevitably forget to switch at the end of the term.

TALK TALK COST COMPARISON Provider TalkTalk Sky Virgin Media BT Package: Faster Fibre Broadband Sky Fibre Unlimited Super 50 Fibre and calls Unlimited Infinity 1 All in Monthly cost (incl line rental) £28.50 £38.99 £40.00 £47.49 One off fees £0.00 £59.95 £14.99 £59.99 Promotion £28.50 for 24 months No Promo £32 for 12 months, £40 thereafter £39.99 for 12 months, £47.49 thereafter + £80 BT reward 24 month total £684.00 £995.71 £878.99 £1,109.75 Saving with TalkTalk - £311.71 £194.99 £425.75 Source: Talk Talk, correct as of January 25

While Talk Talk evidently comes out much cheaper than rival offers from Sky, Virgin Media and BT cheaper deals can be found.

For example, when This is Money looked we found a deal from Plus Net costing £27.50-a-month with a £6.99 set-up cost. The deal lasts for 18 months with speeds of up to 38Mb and includes £50 cashback.

Again the cost rises after the first 18 months to £32.98 including line rental. This brings the total cost to £699.87 or £649.87 after cashback.

Remember savvy switchers could cut the cost even more by shopping around again at the end of the contract.

While broadband prices may increase over the next 18 months it is likely that switching again at the end of your contract will always be cheaper than sticking with the same provider.