Broadband Guide

Broadband deals

Updated: Wednesday 09 November, 2011

By Editorial - news@consumerchoices.co.uk

If you’re looking for a new broadband deal you could save yourself money and get a better value package by switching broadband provider.

Broadband Deals

Since you’ll probably be signed up to your new package for at least the next year or more, you need to make sure that you choose the right package to suit your needs. Here’s what you should think about when choosing a new broadband deal.

Broadband download speed

Advertised broadband speeds have risen significantly over the last year, and the majority now have broadband packages offering speeds of up to 20Mb. However these are a long way from the speeds that most households will actually achieve.

There are a range of factors, including the distance from your local exchange, quality of the telephone line, traffic management policies and contention that will all reduce the actual speed you will receive. Research from Ofcom (2011) showed that average connections are more like 6.8Mb in reality.

Additionally, many broadband providers will only offer up to 8Mb speeds to customers living outside of their own network area which will mean actual speeds nearer to 4Mb.

If you only use the internet for general surfing and sending emails, with the occasional music, movie or BBC iPlayer download, then these speeds should be fine for you. However, if you think you’ll need a faster connection, providers like BE Broadband (www.BeThere.co.uk) and O2 Broadband (www.O2.co.uk) did well in Ofcom's speed tests.

However, the reigning king of superfast broadband is Virgin Media (www.VirginMedia.com). Virgin Media offer the UK's fastest broadband with speeds of up to 50Mb on its fibre network with actual speeds of between 85-100% of those advertised.

Run an online Broadband Speed Test now and see how your provider performs. And read our complete guide to boosting your broadband speed for tips on how to increase your speed.

Download allowance

Most broadband packages fall into two categories when it comes to download allowances; “unlimited broadband” or a set allowance. Most “unlimited” broadband deals come with a fair usage policy - with the exception of: Sky’s Unlimited Broadband package, Orange broadband's (www.Orange.co.uk) Unlimited packages and O2's The All Rounder and The Works packages which offer truly unlimited downloads.

Fair usage policies mean that although there might be a limit to how much you can download - often around 40GB a month - you won’t automatically be charged if you exceed your limit. Instead your connection might be throttled, reducing your download speed, or if you repeatedly offend, you might be asked to upgrade to a more appropriate package.

On the other hand, broadband deals with a set download limit will charge you for additional data that you download if you exceed your allowance, but your connection won’t be traffic managed or throttled in the same way as an “unlimited” package. Some of these - like Eclipse Broadband's (www.Eclipse.net.uk) Home Pro package - offer free downloads over night, allowing you to schedule large downloads so that they don’t affect your allowance.

Bundle Deals - Home phone, broadband, digital TV and mobile

Taking more than one service can get you a better deal on your home telecoms. If you know that you want a home phone, digital TV, mobile phone or even mobile broadband service on top of your home broadband connection, then you could almost certainly save yourself money by taking all of your home telecoms services from the same provider.

Some local loop unbundled (LLU) operators such as Sky still offer “free broadband”.

However, remember not to add anything you really don’t need - unless of course it would actually bring your total monthly cost down - as can be the case with some bundles. Otherwise you’ll just be wasting money on a service you won’t use.

Added extras

You can get loads of added extras with broadband deals today. Most ISPs will give you a free wireless broadband router when you sign up for at least a year, allowing you to connect more than one computer to the internet without having to run wires all round the house - so the whole family can get online at the same time.

A number of providers, like BE Broadband and TalkTalk have also begun to offer “personalised” broadband services.

BE customers can choose from a selection of different settings to optimise their broadband connection for speed, reliability, gaming or general web surfing.

TalkTalk customers can add rolling one-month “Boosts” ranging from £2 to £5 each per month. These include the option to double your download allowance to 80GB a month, a security suite for three PCs, and a range of home phone boosts.

Choosing your broadband deal

When the time comes to choose a new deal and switch broadband provider, remember to keep your needs in mind. Think about the way that you will use your broadband connection; how fast you want to go, how much you will be downloading and whether or not you can do your downloading overnight.

If you know that you’re a technophobe who isn’t good with computers, make sure that you go for a provider with a good technical support and customer service record to get any problems sorted out as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Also think about the added extras and bundled services that could complement your package, enhancing your broadband experience - but don’t be tempted to sign up for addition service you won’t use just because they’re cheap.

Finally, remember that cheap broadband isn’t always the best value - try to strike a balance between economy and service.

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