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One month broadband contracts

Our Broadband Expert says...

Increasing numbers of broadband providers are now offering flexible contracts that allow you to cancel when it suits you - without a big penalty. This makes it far easier for customers like yourself, who aren’t in a position to sign a long contract, to get online.

O2 broadband

O2 broadband (www.O2.co.uk) recently launched new one-month broadband contracts across all three of its packages.

O2 is a fast, reliable broadband provider that has won a host of awards for customer satisfaction since it began offering home broadband in late 2007. Today, you can take a one-month contract on The Basics, The All Rounder or The Works packages - you just have to pay a one-off upfront fee of £29.99.

And if you're an existing O2 mobile customer you'll still be able to take advantage of its £5 monthly discounts. This could cut the cost of your connection to as little as £8 a month, or £12 a month for speeds of up to 20Mb broadband, with “unlimited broadband” downloads, subject to a fair usage policy.

If you're not an O2 mobile customer, you'll pay an extra £5 a month, plus an additional £25 connection fee when you sign-up.

Plusnet

Plusnet broadband (www.Plus.net) is another supplier offering short contracts. You can sign-up to either its Value or Extra package on a rolling 30-day contract.

It costs £25 to activate your connection, plus £20 for a wired router or £40 for a wireless broadband router if you don’t already have one. Once you've signed up to your flexible Plusnet package, you'll be able to cancel any time you want with just 10-days notice.

Both packages come with speeds of up to 20Mb, but the Value package, which is better suited to light users, has a 10GB monthly download allowance, while the Extra package offers 60GB a month. Both packages do come with free overnight downloads between midnight and 8am though.

BE broadband

BE broadband (www.Bethere.co.uk), which shares its network with O2, offers three-month deals rather than one-month contracts, but this could still work for you.

The provider, which is known for its fast, reliable connections, does offer three different packages, including an up to 8Mb broadband deal, but its flexible contracts are only available on its Unlimited or Pro packages.

Rather than paying an additional upfront fee, BE charges a higher monthly rate if you want to sign a shorter contract.

The Unlimited package, which comes with speeds of up to 24Mb broadband and “unlimited” downloads, costs £17.88 on a 12-month contract, but £20.43 if you go for the flexible option.

The Pro package, which also offers 24Mb broadband and a very fair usage policy, as well as a static IP address and faster uploads at up to 2.5Mb, costs £21.97 on a 12-month contract or £24.52 on a three-month plan.

Mobile broadband

As well as pay-as-you-go mobile broadband, a number of providers also offer flexible one-month contracts.

While mobile broadband can be a great way to get online with minimum commitment, it isn’t always suitable as a replacement for a home broadband connection.

There are a number of issues that you need to consider before buying a dongle:

• Coverage. Mobile broadband connections can be patchy in some areas, so it’s important to check coverage before signing up
• Download speeds. Average actual mobile broadband download speeds are only around 1Mb - compared to 5.2Mb from fixed line connections
• Download allowances. Most mobile broadband packages offer a download allowance of just 3GB or 5GB a month, which is fine for checking emails and surfing the net, but not really suitable for BBC iPlayer catch-ups, music downloads or online gaming.

Both Three mobile broadband (www.Three.co.uk) and Orange mobile broadband (www.Orange.co.uk) offer generous download allowances and one-month contract options, while T-Mobile broadband (www.T-Mobile.co.uk) and O2 mobile broadband (www.O2.co.uk) both offer pay-as-you-go options from just £2 a day.

NB Best buy tables (orange background) are always current.

Examples in the text of the article (white background) are correct at time of publication.

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