Free laptops as Tesco takes on Carphone

Tesco is going head to head with Carphone Warehouse, offering free laptops to customers who take out many of its mobile broadband packages.

The supermarket giant, which has said it wants to become the UK's leading telecoms player, is offering two free laptop models at 50 of its in-store phone shops with a selection of mobile broadband packages from the network providers 3 and Orange.

Tesco's move follows the mobile phone retailer Carphone Warehouse's launch of combined free laptop and mobile broadband packages in September 2007. Carphone Warehouse now sells a wide range of subsidised laptops from Dell to Toshiba, with all major network providers – apart from Vodafone – at all its 820 stores.

Lance Batchelor, the chief executive of Tesco Mobile and Tesco Telecoms, said: "We believe that mobile broadband is going to really take off in 2009 and we want to help our customers get the very best deals, making it easier than ever for them to stay connected wherever they are."

Tesco's in-store deals include a free Dell Studio XPS 16 laptop with a 24-month mobile broadband package from 3 at £29.36 a month.