Broadband Guide

Broadband for students

Broadband is one of the most important student essentials, helping you study, stay in touch with friends and family and get the best deals online, so its vital that you get a broadband package to suit your needs - and your budget.

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Student broadband

Students have specific needs when it comes to broadband packages. What works in a family situation may not be right for a student who’s about to leave home.

There are a number of things to take into account when you shop around for an internet connection.

The most pertinent question for students is: how long do you think you’ll be living in your current house?

Mobile broadband

Mobile broadband is a great choice for students, allowing you to log on at home, in the library and even the student union.

It also offers a great choice of package types, from pay as you go to one month contracts or longer length plans.

Pay as you go mobile broadband packages are perfect as they eliminate the risk of exceeding your allowance and running up high bills, and allow you to stop using them when you go home during the holidays.

However, if your pay as you go credit runs out, you won’t be able to get online, which is where pay monthly plans can offer better value.

Even if you don’t want to sign a long contract, you can get the same value from a one month contract as you would from an 18 or 24 month tariff, with providers like 3 Broadband (www.Three.co.uk) offering 5GB a month for £15.

However, if you do choose a mobile broadband contract, you need to be very careful not to exceed your download allowance as additional charges can be as much as 19.6p per MB.

Fixed line broadband

If a mobile broadband connection isn’t suitable - for example, if you need faster download speeds or a higher download allowance - or if you think you’ll be moving house every three months or going home during the holidays, the flexibility of a no-contract broadband connection will doubtlessly appeal.

As well as no contract broadband packages from providers like Direct Save Telecom (www.Directsavetelecom.co.uk), you can also get shorter contracts running for 3 or 9 months.

Be Broadband (www.Bethere.co.uk) offers speeds of up to 24Mb on its fast, reliable broadband packages, with a choice of 9 month contracts which are the perfect length for students, or shorter 3 month contracts, which cost an extra £2.50 a month.

However, if you and your mates are signing a 12 month lease on your flat then a 12 month contract could offer major savings on your broadband, allowing you to access the cheapest broadband packages on the market, many of which come with 12 month contracts attached.

Bundles for students

A broadband bundle could potentially save you money on your bills. With a student broadband bundle you will get one bill for a mix of home phone calls, digital TV, mobile deals and the broadband connection itself - you can also get discounts if you take your home or mobile broadband from your mobile phone provider.

For example, O2 Broadband (www.O2.co.uk) offers discounts on its home broadband for existing customers, bringing the cost of its Standard up to 8Mb package to just £7.34 a month, or its 20Mb Premium tariff to less than £10 a month.

Orange Broadband (www.Orange.co.uk) also offers discounts for its mobile phone customers, and has a selection of mobile broadband packages designed specifically for existing customers.

If your budget allows it, you could even get a bundle that offers digital TV channels or home phone calls, from ISPs like Sky Broadband (www.Sky.com) or Virgin Media (www.Virginmedia.com).

Wireless broadband

If you want to share your connection - and bills - with your housemates, then a fixed line broadband connection is the best solution. Many providers will give you a free wireless broadband router when you sign a contract, though even if you don’t want to sign a contract, you could always buy one from a computer hardware shop for around £30.

If you are sharing your connection with other people, you need to be aware that your download speed will be affected the more people that are online at the same time. You should also keep an eye on your download allowance to make sure that you don’t exceed your limit or fair usage policy.

Although there are a number of devices on the market that let you share your mobile broadband connection - such as mobile wifi gadgets - it’s not advisable to regularly share your mobile broadband with other people. Mobile broadband download allowances are far lower than fixed line connections - and 3GB or even 5GB a month won’t go far between three or four people.

Click here to Compare Broadband Packages by monthly and yearly cost, get more information on ISPs and packages, and switch.

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