When choosing cheap or FREE Broadband, bear this in mind

With so many apparently cheap broadband offers, especially those bundled with other services (e.g. Talk Talk), you’d be forgiven for being slightly confused.

Here’s a list of some factors to bear in mind when choosing:

• You’ll be tied in for at least 12 months. Sometimes 18 months.
• There may be extra set-up charges.
• Oversubscription. Not always guaranteed when you will be connected when signing-up.
• Packages are not normally suitable for heavy downloading of songs / movies or peer 2 peer.
• If it is unlimited usage, it is probably not truly unlimited. Your broadband speed may be limited (traffic management / throttling) if you download too much during peak times.
• FREE is not truly free. It costs your provider money to provide you with a broadband service. So they will make money from you somewhere else (e.g. phone, mobile, tv).
• There may be an extra cost if you download more than your given allowance.
• Customer support phoneline charges.
• May not be suitable for business use. If your connection is important to running your business, seek out a specific business package.

The purpose of this article is not to discourage you, but simply make you aware of how these offers generally work. The majority of consumers who have signed up to these offers are fairly satisfied with their broadband service, according to recent reports.

That said, a minority are encountering problems, such as a long wait to be connected, poor customer service as well as connection issues. Customer service has not been spoken of very highly at the larger ISPs, and it’s often those who find they need to contact them that complain of the poor service. So, unless you’re a broadband techie expert, just hope that you are connected quickly and without any connection problems.

Related broadband links

General Broadband Choosing Tips
Latest UK Broadband Offers