Five tips to find the best broadband deals

Get the best broadband deals using our five tips...

Where would we be without the internet? A reliable search engine and a speedy connection can really help you out when it comes to finding that special birthday gift or streaming your favourite programmes.  So, don’t stick with a provider who doesn’t deliver out of habit.  Instead, use our tips to get the best broadband speed possible for the lowest price – saving you time and money. Here’s how:

1. Check what’s out there

If you’re looking at your outgoings, or you’ve just moved somewhere new, it pays to shop around to make sure that you’re getting the best deal available. A good place to start is a comparison website, like Compare the Market or Broadband Choices, so you can see what’s out there.

2. Area

Remember that some deals won’t be available in certain areas, so there’s no point getting excited over the lowest price, just to realise that you won’t be able to benefit. You should be able to check the individual supplier’s availability in your area on their main website.  For example, fibre optic broadband – which gives the fastest speeds isn’t yet available across the whole UK.  Similarly Virgin’s cable network may not be available where you live.

3. Speed

You’ll also need to think about download speeds, but this again can be affected by where you live. Be aware that suppliers will give you their download speed based on the fastest speed possible with the best equipment. However, if you live out of the way, it may not be quite as fast for you, so don’t bank on it being as advertised. You can check the speed available in your area by using this link.

4. Could you get a bundle?

With most broadband deals you are required to have a landline, so there will be the cost of the line rental, plus the broadband. Remember to keep an eye out for this while you’re searching.

If you do still use your landline for calls, you’ll need to take the call charges into account as well.

If you don’t want to pay for the line rental, then it is possible to opt for mobile broadband instead, which could be cheaper. The advantage of this is obvious – it’s mobile! However, the speed will not be as fast as home broadband as it uses your networks 3G or 4G mobile signal to connect to the internet. Have a look here for your mobile broadband options.

5. Watch out for usage

If you know that you won’t use the internet that much then it’s fine to opt for a limited amount of data allowance. But, if you like surfing the web and watching videos, going over your allowance can be very costly. Sometimes it’s more cost-effective to just opt for unlimited use from the outset so that you don’t have this to worry about.

As you can see, there are a few things to think about when choosing your broadband deal. but once you know what you need in your package then the whole thing becomes much simpler. Making sure that you’re not paying more than you need to on these everyday expenses is a really important way of freeing up your income and easing financial strain.