Deciding On An Internet Service Provider For Home Use

Choosing a provider for broadband is very much a minefield with so many different companies talking about speeds and download amounts. Some will offer you combined phone and broadband and some even throwing in some form of TV service in as well.

To begin with you need to consider what is available in your area. If you have a telephone line already then there's a good chance it is a BT line. You may also live in a cable area. There are a number of websites which will tell you this information. You are not restricted to providers reselling BT backhaul services just because you have a BT phone line. LLU or local loop unbundling is where a service provider installs their own hardware in an exchange with a link back to their routers and so you do not share the same service as everyone else. This is considered to be a lot better as you will normally get a superior connection speed and find that at peak times the level of service will still remain good and can quite often be cheaper. There are websites available which by entering your postcode and phone number, will tell you what LLU services are available at your exchange. Don't worry if there is none available or only one or two, it just means that you are probably going to end up using more of BT's service until it gets back to your ISP.

The speed you see in an advertisement and what you end up with are two vastly different things. The large 8 or 24mb that will catch your eye will have a very small "up to" at the front of it. This is because unlike ADSL 1 where the speed was fixed, ADSL2 and ADSL2+ are designed to obtain the most stable speed your line can handle. The closer to the exchange you live the faster speed you can get.

You also need to look at the bandwidth allowance you get and this is how much data you can download. If you are someone who checks their email once a week and has a quick read of some news feeds then you are not going to need much. However if you are a large family doing a lot of online gaming and streaming TV programs, then you will chew up a lot of bandwidth.

You will probably get some free or cheap hardware offered if you sign up for a minimum term. Like with most things though, there is no such thing as a free lunch and so don't expect the stuff to be wonderful! Ensure you read everything twice, both the contract and the small print on advertisements.