How to compare broadband deals
Simplifydigital looks at the best ways to compare broadband deals.
Comparing broadband deals can be daunting for some, so here at Simplifydigital we want to make it easier and explain some of the main things to consider when you compare broadband deals.
Broadband providers offer many different features with their broadband packages. For instance; you could save money by taking a broadband, home phone and digital TV bundle broadband package with a provider like Virgin Media. Sometimes getting bundle deals from broadband providers makes for cheap broadband as the cost lowers with the more services you take. Some broadband providers may offer free broadband with TV packages - Sky Broadband currently offers this service.
You can compare broadband packages and the best broadband deals on simplifydigital.co.uk
Here are some things you should look for when comparing broadband deals
Compare broadband providers
A broadband provider is important to some people for technical reasons, but another person's decision may be a personal one. You may go with a particular broadband provider such as BT Broadband purely because you trust the brand and you have been with BT for many years using their home phone service. Other people may choose a broadband provider or ISP based on the fact they can bundle home phone digital TV and broadband together for a lower cost.
Compare broadband speed
Broadband download and upload speeds are an important factor, which will affect the choice and price of your broadband package.
Broadband download speed is the headline speed quoted in broadband advertising and refers to the speed of transfer down the broadband connection to your PC. Broadband upload speed is also important as it affects the speed of posting content from your PC onto the internet (e.g. photos on Photobox). But broadband upload speeds are not widely quoted by broadband providers
If you don't use the internet that much then you would probably need to look at a broadband speed of up to 2 Mb/s which Is the most basic broadband speed offered by UK home broadband providers.
If you use the internet quite a lot for emails, videos and music, the speed you require would be up to 8Mb/s or above. Talk Talk's best selling home broadband service for example is an up to 8 Mb/s service.
If you are a heavy user of the internet, which would involve watching on-demand TV on the BBC iPlayer catch-up service or downloading loads of movies and music, then you need to think about a super-fast home broadband package. Super-fast broadband packages start from up to 20 Mb/s. Virgin Media's fibre-optic broadband network offers super-fast broadband speeds of up to 50 Mb/s - the fastest home broadband package currently widely available in the UK.
Remember, home broadband download speeds are quoted as "up to" speeds. This reflects the fact that you are very unlikely to receive the quoted broadband speed in reality. This can be due to a number of reasons including your distance from the telephone exchange and whether or not your broadband comes over copper cable or fibre optic cable.
Compare broadband - usage limits
Usage limits dictate how much data you can download within the cost of your broadband package. It is measured in Gigabytes (Gig) of data. Downloading data-rich things like video and music uses up more
Gig - a full length movie for example uses about 1.5G to download.
Broadband usage limits are higher than those available for mobile broadband packages. They vary from around 10GB through to "unlimited downloads".
Sky Broadband offers its Unlimited Broadband service which has truly unlimited downloads, but other home broadband providers' unlimited broadband come with what's known as a "fair usage policy". A fair usage policy means that if you download excessively you will be encouraged to curtail your usage. Broadband providers can achieve this by slowing down your broadband connection, or charging you.
Compare broadband bundles and get cheap broadband or even free broadband!
This is the fun part! You may actually save money on your home broadband service by going with a broadband provider that offers broadband bundles. Broadband bundles can offer not just a high speed internet connection, but also other services such as digital TV, home phone and even mobile broadband services.
So if you enjoy digital TV as much as you do using broadband internet then you may want to consider a bundle deal with your broadband package. You can get your favourite digital TV channels that you already enjoy on Freeview, Freesat or Sky Digital included in your bundle as well as the possibility of cheap home phone deals thrown in as well - brilliant!
Sky offer free home broadband as part of a digital TV and home phone bundle offer.
With Sky's Sky+ Starter package you can record, pause and rewind all your shows with a Sky+ recorder (the Sky+ box costs £49) and get 2 entertainment packs with free broadband and home phone calls with Sky Talk - Talk Freetime all for £18.50 per month. However as well as the £49 for the Sky+ box there is also a £30 standard set up fee.
Virgin Media offer many bundle packages. They currently offer their Virgin Media Best Value Bundle with 60 digital TV channels, up to 10Mb fibre optic broadband and unlimited weekend calls to UK landlines with free installation all for just £19.50 per month. This is a good deal and you can see how bundling your broadband package can save money and add more services such as digital TV.
If you like your broadband at the speed of light (literally) then to get ultra-fast broadband take a look at the aptly named; Virgin Media Super Speedy Broadband Bundle, It includes 50Mb fibre optic broadband, 65 digital TV channels and unlimited weekend calls to UK landlines with free installation for £33.50 per month
Helping you compare the best broadband deals
If you need help to compare broadband packages, don't spend hours, days or months trawling through the web looking for the best broadband deals or the cheapest broadband, compare broadband with simplifydigital.co.uk. Our broadband experts are available free on 0800 1 388 388.
