What will you be using the internet for?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nIn terms of the number of people living with you, the general rule of thumb is that the more people there are, the faster you\u2019ll need your internet to be. Each device connecting to the internet uses up some of the available speed and puts it under an increased amount of strain, meaning that everyone getting online at the same time will lead to connection and buffering problems. Opting for the fastest package you can afford if you\u2019re in a full house of people will give you the best chance of having decent internet all of the time.<\/p>\n
The next question is about what you use the internet for. The simple truth is that people who tend to use the internet for the likes of emailing and browsing won\u2019t really need particularly fast speeds. A two-person household that is going to use the internet rarely will need significantly lower speeds than a family of four that plans to be gaming, streaming and hooking up smart devices like speakers and TVs. Even those that do plenty of streaming won\u2019t necessarily need huge speeds unless they\u2019re doing so in high-definition.<\/p>\n
In truth, super fast speeds of about 30 Mbps will be unnecessary for most households and ultrafast, which reaches speeds in excess of 100 Mbps, will definitely be more than the majority if people will need. As a result, a package that offers speeds in the region of 10-15 Mbps will suffice for most, but that is dependent on how many people are going to be using the internet at any one time and what they\u2019ll be using it for. It is definitely worth weighing that up before you being looking at the different packages on offer.<\/p>\n
How to Test Your Speed<\/h3>\n
It is possible that you\u2019ve read all of the above information and thought \u2018what I\u2019ve got now is fast enough, but how fast is it?\u2019 Alternatively you might be thinking \u2018I need faster than what I\u2019ve got, but what have I got?\u2019 As a result, one of the best things to do is to test your current speed in order to find out what you\u2019ve currently got. It is also important to note that there is a difference between the speed that your provider gives you and the speed that you\u2019ll be able to achieve if you\u2019re operating via Wi-Fi, so bear that in mind.<\/p>\n
In order to test the speed that you\u2019re being provider by the company that you pay for your Wi-Fi, the best thing to do is to plug your computer directly into your router using an ethernet cable. Once you\u2019ve done that, you can load up any number of different speed testing sites that will communicate with your computer in order to find out how fast your download and upload speeds are. You can also do the test without plugging into the router, but this will only give you your Wi-Fi speeds, which will be slower than the actual speeds you can get.<\/p>\n
Broadband providers will talk about their \u2018average speed\u2019, but you need to bear in mind the fact that these speeds are only what 50% of their customers can get at peak times in order to be claimed as average speeds. Once you begin the process of signing up for a package with an Internet Service Provider, they will then let you know the likely speed that you\u2019ll be able to receive once the internet is installed, which will depend on a large number of factors. As long as you can get fast enough speeds, that is the key thing to think about.<\/p>\n
What Are Gbps & Mbps?<\/h4>\n
When you\u2019re looking at your speeds, you\u2019ll soon see that two phrases tend to be used: Mbps and Gbps. Mbps is a shortening of megabits per second, whilst Gbps means gigabits per second. With the average internet speed being about 10 Mbps, that means that your computer will download ten megabits of data in one second. A gigabit is ten times more than a megabit, so if you had speeds of 100 megabits per second or 1 gigabit per second, the latter would be the equivalent of 1,000 Mbps and significantly faster.<\/p>\n
The vast majority of people simple won\u2019t need gigabit internet. The sort of people that need to get gigabit internet are the ones that have four adults all working from home, all downloading huge files at the same time as they\u2019re streaming content to a laptop and playing games online. Of course, getting the fastest internet speed that you can afford makes sense for all sorts of reasons, but doing so just for the sake of it isn\u2019t worth it.<\/p>\n
A good way of thinking about it is like a car. The SSC Tuatara can do 282.9 miles per hour, but the top legal speed in the United Kingdom is 70 miles per hour. What is the point in paying for a car that can do speeds that you\u2019ll never legally be able to reach? It is all well and good having gigabit speed internet, but if the fastest that you\u2019ll ever need it to do is 15 Mbps then you\u2019re just wasting your money by paying for such incredible speeds.<\/p>\n
Download Limits<\/h3>\n
When you sign up for a mobile phone contract, you know that you\u2019ll get a certain amount of data to use during the course of your contract. Imagine that your mobile contract comes with 20 GB of data, this means that you can use social media, send emails, browse and stream until your 20 GB has been used up. The same sort of thing is true with ISPs, who install a download limit on their broadband contracts that will stop you from being able to use the internet once all of your data has been used up.<\/p>\n
The amount that you\u2019ll be given will differ from provider to provider and even within the various contracts that they offer. This is, perhaps, the second-most important factor after the speed of your internet because using up your download limit can leave you totally exposed. Every bit of information that goes to online devices uses up data, with some using more than others. Streaming a move in 4K, for example, will use about 15 GB, so it\u2019s worth thinking about how often you\u2019re likely to do that during the course of a month.<\/p>\n
Research suggests that the average UK household used 240 GB in 2018. In the three years since, the prevalence of the likes of UHD content on Netflix, BBC iPlayer and Amazon Prime is likely to have seen that shoot up even higher. Add in the use of smart speakers and all of a sudden it\u2019s pretty clear that a low download limit will leave you without the use of the internet pretty quickly in an internet-heavy house. It is why looking for deals that offer unlimited downloads might well be a sensible move for many.<\/p>\n
The Length of the Contract<\/h3>\n
The next thing that is worth weighing up when you try to decide on your internet package is how long the contract lasts for. This might seem like a relatively unimportant thing, but being locked into a contract for two years when your internet speeds aren\u2019t good enough can result in a feeling of desperation when your can\u2019t stream your favourite shows or download that document that work sent through. It is now fairly typical for a company to offer 24 month contracts, but is that the right thing for you to opt for?<\/p>\n
On the flip side of that, if you\u2019re reasonably confident that you\u2019re going to be happy with the internet that you get then you will doubtless be happy to sign up to as long a contract as possible. Don\u2019t forget, however, that this will preclude you from being able to take advantage of decent offers when Black Friday 2022 rolls around. Equally, signing up for a one-month rolling contract might seem sensible when you first sign up to give you a chance to check out how good the internet is, but if you do so you will be paying over the odds for the pleasure.<\/p>\n
Can You Get Anything Else?<\/h3>\n
More and more broadband providers offer much more than just access to the internet. It is not uncommon, for example, for Sky to offer packages that include broadband internet in addition to a TV package. If you love watching Succession<\/em>, say, then it might be worth your while to see if you can get a brilliant deal that includes an Entertainment Pass alongside your broadband. Similarly, sports lovers will be keen to get a sports deal added to their internet package when signing up to save them money.<\/p>\nThere are some packages that offer Fibre To The Property deals, meaning that you don\u2019t need to connect to the local exchange in order to get your internet. Instead, the fibre cables literally run right up to your property and you\u2019ll be able to get lightning fast deals. This sort of thing is typically offered to new-build properties rather than older ones, but it is being rolled out generally. If you need to get your internet from the exchange then the likelihood is that it will come over your phone line, meaning a phone package can be rolled in with your internet usage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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Nothing is as important to the modern internet user as the state of their provider. Choosing the right broadband for your needs can be the difference between getting the \u2018wheel of death\u2019 sign of buffering every time you load up your favourite streaming service and thinks working smoothy and easily. More and more of the products that we buy, from light bulbs to speakers, need to be connected to the internet in order to work to the best of their ability. Having the fastest broadband that you can will allow you to get the most out of such things.<\/p>\n![\"BT](\"https:\/\/www.blackfridaydeals.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/bt-mobile.jpg\")
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