Business phone and broadband bundles: what to check before you sign
With the old analogue phone network closing by the end of January 2027, business phone lines are moving onto broadband. A bundle puts your broadband, phone lines and numbers on one bill. Here is what to compare, how to keep your number and how to stop the price creeping up.
How business phones work now
Instead of a copper phone line, calls run over your broadband as internet calls, often called VoIP. You keep your number and gain features that used to cost extra: call forwarding, voicemail to email, a mobile app and call recording. Most providers now sell broadband and phone lines together as a bundle.
What to compare in a bundle
Lines or users
How many people need a phone, whether a desk phone or an app.
Calls included
UK landline and mobile minutes, and international rates if you need them.
Keeping your number
Number porting, and how long the provider says it takes.
Features
Call forwarding, hunt groups, voicemail to email, call recording and a mobile app.
Broadband
Full fibre speed, upload speed and the fix time promise.
Contract and price rises
Length, end date, and any rises set out in pounds and pence.
Before you switch
List the equipment still on an analogue line, such as alarms, lift and emergency lines and card terminals, and check each one works on a digital line or has a replacement. Then port your number, set your forwarding rules and test incoming calls before the old line goes.
Make every call count
A digital phone system makes it easy to forward the calls you miss to an AI receptionist, so no customer ends up in voicemail. Our guide to call forwarding shows how, and OptiFlow Lite answers them for £49 a month.
Keep the price down
Bundles often start cheap and creep up once the contract ends. Diary the end date, check that price rises are set out in pounds and pence, and compare before you renew. OptiFlow Watch checks your phone and broadband bills and flags when you are overpaying.
Questions people ask
Can I keep my business number?
Usually, yes. Moving a number between providers is called porting, and your new provider arranges it.
Do I need new phones?
You can use internet desk phones, a softphone app on computers and mobiles, or in some cases an adapter for your existing handsets.
Is a bundle cheaper than buying separately?
Often, but compare the total cost over the contract, including set up, equipment and what you pay when the deal ends.
What happens to alarms and card machines?
Anything that relies on an analogue line needs checking before the switch. Ask each supplier whether it works on a digital line.
Check your phone and broadband costs
Run the free bill checker and see where you could be paying less.
Related reading: Full fibre business broadband, What is call forwarding, Business broadband deals, Cut business mobile and telecoms bills.