How to choose your broadband package

Broadband internet has become an increasingly essential part of modern life. Whether it’s working from home to doing our grocery shopping and catching up with the latest TV shows, broadband now underpins many of our daily activities. As the market for high speed internet connections continues to grow, there are now many different types of internet packages, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. It's important to understand what it being offered and how it meets your own needs before settling on a particular broadband solution.



The first thing to do is choose what type of broadband connection you would like, ADSL or fibre optic, sometimes known as cable. As a general rule, fibre optic connections can reach higher speeds than ADSL ones because the special cabling is better suited to high speed data transmission than the copper phone wires that ADSL is reliant on. However, fibre optic is not as widely available and those who live outside large cities may find that it is not available in their areas. Fibre optic also requires a separate line which may need to installed by engineers at additional cost. ADSL can run over a normal phone line, making it much more widely available to those in rural areas.

Next you will need to decide what speed you need. Speeds vary significantly although most UK ISPs now offer 8Mb download speeds as standard. This is more than enough for most peoples' needs, although those who regularly download large files, play games online or stream music and television programmes may find higher speeds beneficial - some ISPs offer ADSL speeds of up to 20Mb or even 24Mb while fibre optic broadband speeds can reach 50Mb. Some areas of the country will soon see 100Mb services rolled out.



It is important to remember that you may not always get the maximum broadband speed advertised; depending on the quality of the phone line, your distance from the telephone exchange and how many other people are online in your area, speeds may lower.



You should also consider how much download traffic you will need. This varies greatly from provider to provider and those who wish to regularly using television streaming services or download large files may wish to opt for an unlimited package to avoid going over their traffic allowance. As a rough guide, those who only plan to browse the internet and send emails will need around 2Gb of traffic, while those also using Skype or other VoIP services will need about 5Gb. Those who stream music, movies and TV catch-up services should consider at least 10Gb, while those who play games online or download heavily are advised to investigate unlimited traffic packages.



Your last consideration should be if you need a wireless router or not. Many home broadband packages now come with a free wireless router as standard, allowing you to get online from wherever you are in the house. If you have only one computer or internet-capable device located near your phone connection, wireless may be surplus to your needs. However, those who wish to connect games consoles, smartphones and laptops without running cables around their homes will find a wireless router an essential piece of kit,