Kiwi Nutz Broadband Advice

Broadband Providers in the UK

To start your search use this table to compare the basic packages of each of the major broadband providers in the UK.

Broadband Provider Go to Site Virgin Media Virgin Media AOL AOL Broadband BT BT Total Broadband UK Online UK Online Be Be There PlusNet Plusnet Broadband Fasthosts Fasthosts Internet

How to choose a Broadband Provider When choosing your Broadband provider you should ask yourself these basic questions: 1) How much are the Setup Costs? 2) How much does the Service Cost Now? 3) How much will the Service Cost in 12 Months? 4) What will I do with My Broadband? 5) How much will I Use My Broadband Connection? 6) What Connection speed will I be needing? 7) What Bandwidth will I require? 8) Do I live in a Cable area? 9) What Bundled goods or services can I get with my connection? 10) What 'After-care' do I expect to receive?

Choosing your Broadband Provider - Questions Explained

1) How much are the Setup Costs?

Most Broadband providers will charge you a Setup cost for connecting you to their broadband service. They may choose to offer this as 'Free for a limited period' however many providers can charge up to £30 to connect.

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2) How much does the service cost now?

There are a lot of good deals at the moment for Broadband, ranging from 'Free' to 'under £10 per month'. If you are canny and not fussy about the speed of your broadband then you will be able to pick up a real bargain if you shop around today.

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3) How much will the service cost in 12 months?

As with all advertised prices for goods and services that are paid on a monthly basis be aware of any enticing deals that may appear to be too good to be true. There are many advertisements at the moment for broadband that have a honeymoon period of 6 to 12 months at a discount and then the service costs increase. This increase may be substantially higher than other leading providers. Be aware.

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4) What will I do with my Broadband?

Choosing the right broadband for your requirements may save you money or prevent you from disappointing yourself when you are connected. If you are only used to dial-up then even 2MB will seem blistering. However if you are looking to download movies then you will need to think again. The more you use your broadband for entertainment the more you will need to think about finding a higher-specification for your connection. (see Qu.6 for connection speed)

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5) How much will I use my Broadband connection?

There are lots of reasons to use Broadband but if you are only at home for an hour a day then you will not be using as much as someone who runs a business from their broadband connection, has multiple users using the same connection or someone who file-shares all weekend. If you only need to surf to do your weekly shopping or to buy tickets for a concert then you won't be needing to get the most blisteringly fast connection available, no matter how much you think you might like it. If however you are one of the increasing number of people who cannot live without surfing for three or four hours a day then you will need to consider this question as part of your bandwidth purchasing criteria (see Qu.7 for more on bandwidth).

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6) What connection speed will I be needing?

Connection speed is what we have been building up to. It depends very much on what you will do with your broadband connection (see Qu.4) If you are new to broadband then 2MB will probably suffice at the moment with knowledge that you will probably like to expand in the future. If you want to download then 8MB to 24 MB will be more appropriate. Remember there is always a cost associated with faster connections.

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7) What bandwidth will I require?

Bandwidth is tricky, it relates to question 5, and is ambiguous because there is a lot of difference between services that providers offer. Some services offer around 5 Gigabytes of downloaded data per month whereas others say up to 40 Gigabytes or even 'Unlimited downloads (but within a fair-usage policy)'. This is where the ambiguity comes into the bandwidth question. Remember to download just one movie you will need at least 4 Gigabytes of data transfer so downloading more than one movie may cost you with some services.

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8) Do I live in a cable area?

Quite a simple question to consider but if you are cabled up you may want to combine all of your media needs with just one service provider. Cable is well worth considering if you are a TV addict.

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9) What bundled goods or services can I get with my connection?

Many of the broadband providers are so keen to get you connected that they will provide free hardware like a modem, wireless router and even a free laptop! Others will offer free bolt-on services for example free TV for 12 months (cable services) or free/cheap phone calls. Whatever it is these freebies can be worth a small fortune if it is what you are looking for. Remember ht at there is no such thing as a free-lunch.

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10) What 'after-care' do I expect to receive?

Customer care is something that is much over-looked, but once you have your service this is perhaps the only thing that you can rely on to get you out of the technical hitches that are bound to come your way at some point in the future. Consider the charges that some companies charge to speak to a technician whereas other providers may be more expensive but when it all goes wrong they are the first to provide quick and free support to its' customers. This may be something that businesses choose to consider.

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