Recently it’s become difficult to open a newspaper or turn on the TV without hearing about the latest, cheapest and best broadband package from the UK’s growing number of broadband providers. When each Internet Service Provider (ISP) claims to provide the best broadband package it’s difficult to select the most suitable option.

There a number of different criteria you should consider before signing up with a new broadband provider; here we look at what you should consider when you compare broadband packages.

So who needs broadband?

If you want to access the internet at a decent speed, download music, films, play online games or use internet phone (VoIP) then you should strongly consider getting broadband. If you intend to use your broadband connection for a number of these activities then you need to consider download limits.

If you only intend to use your internet connection for surfing the web and sending the occasional email high download limits and speed should not be a major concern. If you fall into this category price, level of customer service and reliability of connection should be taken into consideration.

It’s worth looking at the freebies included in broadband packages such as those offering free wireless broadband as part of the subscription. Down loading music, games, films, video clips, playing online games, and the use of internet phone services such as Skype, Vonage and Demon all require data to be downloaded. The more you use your broadband connection for these activities the greater the download limit you will require. For users who are heavy down loaders an unlimited broadband package is the best option as these set no limit on your monthly downloads.

So what about broadband speed?

Download speed is the rate with which data is transferred from the internet to your computer. Download speed is measured in megabits per second, commonly abbreviated to Mb. Broadband speeds on offer can vary greatly; it is currently available from 512k (0.5Mb) to 22Mb. A 512k connection is still 10 times faster than dial up and will be fine when generally surfing the net and sending emails. However, if you like downloading lots of music or video and playing games online, you might want to consider a faster connection. In general, a 1 or 2Mb connection will offer you the best balance between performance and price and will be more than adequate for the vast majority of broadband users.

Should you go Wireless?

Wireless broadband has a number of advantages and is now offered as a freebie with some UK broadband providers. Wireless broadband will allow you to access your broadband connection from any where in close proximity of your wireless router (the device enabling your connection to be wireless). Unless you live in a small castle this should allow you to access broadband anywhere within your home. A further advantage of wireless broadband is that you can share the connection between multiple computers within the household though you will be splitting the speed of connection by doing so and you are likely to require a higher download limit if a number of people are accessing the connection. An additional consideration, and one that is surprisingly often ignored, is to remember to add a password to your connection if you chose wireless broadband. Importantly this will stop other people, perhaps neighbours, using your broadband connection which presents a security risk and will affect the performance of your broadband connection.

A final consideration should be security measures

It is highly advisable to purchase an antivirus package to protect your computer and avoid falling victim to online fraud. A firewall will offer further protection. Different levels of security are offered with different packages, these include parental controls, antivirus software and firewalls, some broadband packages will include all 3 as part of package.