How to Compare Broadband Deals

With an ever increasing number of businesses and services moving their operations online having access to a high speed broadband connection has become almost as essential as a home phone line or mobile.

However, with so many different providers and packages available choosing the plan that will provide you with value for money access to the internet is often easier said than done and many households end up paying over the odds for benefits they simply don’t need. So, to help make getting online that bit easier we explain how to get started with broadband.

ADSL or cable?

ADSL broadband is available to the vast majority of UK households as it’s delivered by the same network as your BT phone line but operates on a higher frequency so you can surf the net and talk on the phone simultaneously without disruption.

Cable broadband on the other hand is only available to homes in areas where the fibre optic cable network is already in place; it’s currently able to service approximately half of UK population but is being expanded all the time. Usually available as part of an entertainment bundle along with cable TV and landline calls, cable broadband can be a cost efficient option if you’re happy to tie all your services to one provider.

While technological advancements are enabling faster broadband speeds to be delivered all the time, in the areas where cable broadband is available it does tend to offer the potential for a faster and more reliable connection to the net as ADSL speed largely depends on a combination of your distance from a phone exchange and the quality of the copper wires that connect you. However, cable broadband can be prone to surges which can be an annoyance especially for those keen on interactive gaming.

What speed?

Broadband speed is a measure of the amount of time it takes to transfer information from the internet to your computer. This is stated as megabytes per second (mbps) and will affect everything you do online from the time it takes for a web page to open to whether you have the capacity to watch TV.

As the vast majority of broadband providers price their offerings based largely on the maximum speed they offer it’s important to take into account your usage when picking a package to avoid paying out unnecessarily.

Even the slowest broadband speeds are lightening quick compared to the old dial up connections many of us previously used to get online and the 1Mb and 2Mb packages most providers offer as a minimum will be more than sufficient for the light user.

These ‘lower speed’ packages will allow you to open web pages in less than a second, make use of streaming to watch videos and use web cams too although the image quality is unlikely to be crystal clear. So, if you’re rarely online for more than a couple of hours a day and use your internet connection predominantly to send emails, search for information and download smaller files, these limits are more than likely to suffice.