Choosing a broadband plan

ACCORDING to broadband community Whirlpool, there are more than 250 internet service providers in Australia offering almost 7000 different kinds of plans. Needless to say, you’re going to need to narrow your choices down a little to find the right one.

The most important three considerations when picking an ISP are your download volume requirements, the connection speed and the cost. Other things to consider are integrating your home phone with your internet plan and the length and terms and conditions of the contract you choose. Don’t underestimate the importance of doing a little community research and asking your neighbours for their opinions.

You will need to think about what you plan to use your internet access for and at what times you’ll use it. Most plans have download limits that regulate how much data you can send and receive during the day and at “off-peak” times, which usually means overnight. If you’re just checking emails and sharing some photos, you can save money by picking a lower-volume usage plan – say, about 2gb per month.

If you’re planning to download lots of music or video files, then you will need a higher download limit. A limit of 20gb on and off peak will be enough for most users. These are just guides, of course, but make sure you give yourself enough room to move if you’re signing up for a long contract as excess download charges are expensive and should be avoided whenever possible.

Speed

Standard ADSL offers speeds of up to 8Mbs, which is fast enough for most users. ADSL2+ can offer higher speeds, but before you sign up have a look around the service provider’s website to see if they offer a map showing what speed is offered in various regions. The further you live from an ADSL2+ exchange and the older your phone cables are, the lower your download speeds will be. You can test your current download speed at Speedtest.net.

Cost

Prices vary widely, so shop around and do your research. Make sure you know how much it will cost to break your contract and whether there are any other clauses. Some ISPs are superior to others and if you need to move house suddenly and can’t transfer your ADSL or cable plan, you don’t want to be penalised excessively for it.

Equipment

ADSL and cable broadband plans require a special modem to connect your computer to the internet. Check to see if this is supplied by the ISP as part of the contract, and if not, how much they are charging for the modem separately. If you have more than one computer at home, you may want to buy a modem with multiple network slots or wireless functionality. In this case, see if the provider gives you a choice of modems. There’s no point getting a free basic modem if you’re just going to replace it with a more advanced model straight away.

IP addresses

An IP address is the identifying number given to your computer when it’s connected to the internet. Under most internet plans, you usually receive a different IP address each time you go online. This is called a dynamic IP address. This is fine for most users, but you may need an address that stays the same – a static IP address – if you are connecting to other networks (like your office computer) through a firewall from home. To get a static IP address will almost always cost a little extra.