The latest trend in home entertainment and communications from the big media and telcom companies is to bundle two or more services into a single discounted package. This trend started with cable companies like Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Charter and Cox and moved to national phone carriers who now offer TV and broadband in select areas on top of traditional phone service. But are these just marketing ploy’s to get all your business or does bundling television, internet, and phone service really save you money? I’ve been covering digital products and services for years and in this article I’m going to look at these package deals and find out if going to one company for all your TV, broadband, and phone needs is the best or if shopping around is the way to go.

There are some concerns to handing over every one of your vital services to one company. Your phone, internet, and your cable are all important parts of your life, and you know that price, quality, and support are vital. If you go with a bundle deal you may wonder how flexible is your contract? Could you get out of it if you needed to? What about the hardware? What does it cost? Are you stuck with it? Well, fortunately most companies tend to work hard at keeping their customers. When a sign-on promotion finally ends, a customer can either extend it or ask about any other promotions. The most important thing here is to actually call the company. You can even choose to lock in your rates, though you might not be too happy if the actual rate is suddenly lowered.

Hardware is something that hinges on the company that you decide to go with. For instance you will receive a digital receiver and a modem in most cases, though if you pay a little extra you will receive a DVR. You can buy these outright, or you can return them to the company once your contract ends. You are responsible for returning this equipment however, and if you fail to do so you will find that it will be very hard to get an account with that company again. The good news is that most companies are the same as far as their policies go. The only other foreseeable problem is the instance of a service outage. After all, having all of these services on one plan can cause some serious issues. Luckily, most companies are becoming more and more reliable.

Now lets look at the bundles you can currently get from the major players in the digital services space. Satellite saw a big resurgence in the 90’s when they introduced small dish’s that could be installed on the side of a house and all-digital channels which at the time was far clearer than the signal being delivered by cable companies. Satellite TV also had more overall programming than cable at a price that was usually lower than cable. Since then satellite hasn’t changed much at all. Limited by their own technology, Dish and DirecTV are struggling to compete in the world of broadband and digital phone service. Even though television prices are still very competitive, satellite has a poor Internet option that’s only useful to homes in very rural areas and no phone service. Recently, national telecommunications companies like AT…T, Qwest, and Verizon are now offering digital TV, high-speed Internet, home, and mobile phone deals. They can now do this through a slowly growing fiber-optic network available in metropolitan areas and by partnering with satellite and broadband providers to cover the TV and Internet portions of the package. Even though the quality and price point is there, I’m currently not recommending consumers go with a telco company for all three services. Since they are partnering with other companies for the TV or broadband service, you’re merely getting a repackaged product that puts more hands in the pot and can create service headaches. Plus, if one of these partners wants to change pricing terms or pull out of the deal with your telco where does that leave you?

So where am I suggesting consumers spend their home entertainment and communications dollar? Right now I’m a big proponent of the bundle deals coming from the major cable providers. Today’s cable companies offer a complete digital and HD programming lineup that matches and often beats what Dish and DirecTV offer. Plus, you can get great add-ons like DVR boxes and on demand service that satellite is only beginning to deliver. And unlike the telco’s, you’re getting digital cable tv, broadband internet, and digital phone service all from one company that will support all three products. If you are only looking for one service, like digital television, then the competition between satellite, cable and the telcos is tighter. But when you get two or three services together you can’t beat the products and discounts cable providers offer. Take a look for yourself and compare the features of each major provider. Use this knowledge to find the very best television, broadband internet, and phone deal for you!

Anna Sussman delves into the complicated world of cable providers to find the offers that deliver the biggest savings for consumers. Anna looks for the lowest Time Warner digital cable rates and discounts on Time Warner bundled services.