Anyone who wants to sign up for broadband services must learn to choose the best provider by seeing how broadband plans compare in terms of basic areas such as speed, price and contract length. A thorough, side-by-side comparison of these three aspects will help you make the right choice in xfinity internet plans pricing and deals.

Before you begin comparing different plans, limit the scope of your work by deciding what you need. If you are new to broadband plans, you might want to choose from among packages that are easy to set up and offer good customer support.

If you are a heavy user and you enjoy downloading huge files regularly, or play online games seriously, choose a package that will enable you to download and play games to your heart’s content.

If you access the internet while on your laptop or iPad and want to be able to do so wherever you are, choose a mobile broadband and have the internet at your fingertips all the time.

• How Broadband Plans Compare in terms of the Basics
• What Are The Levels of Broadband?
• How do I Test my Internet Speed?
• What Broadband Speed do I Need?
• What Affects my Broadband Speed?
• What Should I Know Before Buying Broadband?
• Why is my Wi-Fi Slow?
• How to Compare Broadband Speeds
• Which Connection is Best For Broadband?
• How Does the Broadband System Work?
• Why is Broadband Important?
• How is Broadband Measured?
• What Determines Broadband Speed?
• Is All Broadband The Same?
• How Good is 100 Mbps Internet?
• What is a Good Internet Speed?
• Will 100 Mbps be Fast Enough For You?
• How do I Choose the Best Broadband in my Area?
• Which is Better Wi-Fi or Broadband?

How Broadband Plans Compare in terms of the Basics

Broadband is your connection to the internet, it can be via ADSL, fibre, satellite, or mobile services. Regardless of the type of connection used, it involves technology that allows for wide bandwidth data transmission, supporting multiple signals and types of traffic.

Speed

It is important for prospective subscribers to see how plans compare in terms of speed. In general, a connection speed that exceeds 2MB is enough to accomplish most online tasks without difficulty. 

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A speed of 8Mb will enable you to play games, watch videos on YouTube and share pictures and pictures. If you download songs, movies and heavy files regularly then this is the speed that will serve your needs.

As you see how different broadband plans compare in terms of speed, some plans will offer the fastest broadband speeds as an option – fiber optics based services. If your needs are at this level, you are probably not a beginner in the business of choosing the right broadband plan. You will also probably have a good idea of the plan you need.

Choosing Between DSL and Cable

Cable and DSL will both allow you to be online 24/7 since with both services, you are online all the time. Billing for both is done monthly and both work with Windows and Mac operating systems.

Regardless whether you choose DSL or cable you just need to see what speed is offered on the table and decide what speed you need. As you do this, take note of how the different broadband plans compare in terms of download and upload speed.

Download speed refers to how quickly you receive the data sent to you. Upload speed refers to the speed with which you are able to send out data. It often happens that upload speed is slower than download speed when you use cable service but this is no big deal when your internet services are merely for home use.

Broadband Plans and Cost

Apart from the monthly rate that the plan will specify as payment for services, it is important to find out if there are extraneous costs such as installation costs, deposits, purchase of hardware and other charges that may be hidden.

Length of Contract

Carefully study the contract length that each plan has. A long contract may be beneficial if you are getting a good deal but it may also be disadvantageous if better deals come along. Find out what surcharges you will have to pay should you decide to terminate the contract early.

Crowd Sourcing for Comparison

As you try to compare the different broadband plans, it would be a good idea to do some “crowd sourcing”. Listen to what the crowd says about the different service providers.

The input of people who have tried the different ISPs is vital to helping you find the right plan. Ask about the service as a whole and the kind of support they make available after the sale has been made. This way, you will be sure to get help when you need it.

What Are The Levels of Broadband?

When choosing your next broadband package, speed is one of the most important things to consider. There are many factors that affect your internet speed, such as how many people are using the internet and where you live.

Many people don’t know what their current broadband speed is, or aren’t sure of how many Mbps they need or what type of connection they can get when they compare broadband packages. It’s always good to understand how broadband works and how to check your broadband speed before you talk to your provider.

Broadband speeds are usually measured in megabits per second (Mbps), although there’s also kilobits per second (Kbps) and gigabits per second (Gbps).

• 1 Kbps: 1,000 bits per second
• 1 Mbps: 1,000,000 bits per second
• 1 Gbps: 1,000,000,000 bits per second

This means the higher the number of bits per second, the faster your broadband speed is. The maximum capacity for information to be sent or received is called bandwidth.

How do I Test my Internet Speed?

You can use our free broadband speed test to check the average speed you’re getting from your provider.

It works by sending data to and from the main server and timing how quickly the data completes the round-trip, which is measured in milliseconds. The test is then run several times to establish a precise result.

It’s useful to regularly test the speed of your broadband so you can ensure you’re getting what you pay for. Luckily, it’s quick and easy to do with our broadband speed test – simply enter your postcode and email address to get the results sent to you.

What Broadband Speed do I Need?

The broadband speed that best suits you depends on how you use the internet. You can generally sort internet usage into three categories:

• Light users: People who only use the internet for day-to-day tasks, such as online banking and emails
• Medium users: People who use the internet regularly for social media, surfing the internet and catching up on the latest episode of their favourite show
• Heavy users: People who use the internet for a significant amount of time, particularly for activities that use up a lot of bandwidth – for example, peer-to-peer file sharing, online gaming, or streaming videos and music

When choosing a broadband package, consider the individual usage requirements of everyone living in your household. You should also take into account the number of people using the connection, as well as what they’re using it for. All of these factors can affect the overall broadband speed.

Broadband speeds can also be generally sorted into three categories, although these aren’t strict definitions:

• Standard broadband – this uses ADSL technology to provide average download speeds of around 10-11Mbps
• Superfast broadband – this uses fibre-optic cables to deliver a broad range of speeds, covering anything from 30-300Mbps
• Ultrafast broadband – this generally means speeds of anything between 300-1000Mbps

As a minimum, we recommend a download speed of at least 10Mbps, which you can get with a standard broadband package. You’ll be able to carry out basic tasks, such as email, browsing the internet and online shopping.

However, if you have multiple people in your household using up your bandwidth, we recommend a download speed of at least between 30-60Mbps. You can achieve these superfast speeds with a fibre optic package.

And, if you work from home or enjoy streaming HD video or gaming – along with other members of your household – you could consider superfast or ultrafast speeds of anything between 60-1000Mbps.

Remember, while providers may advertise certain speeds, this isn’t necessarily what you’ll receive. These speeds are often only available to 50% of customers, meaning that you might end up with a slower connection.

What Affects my Broadband Speed?

There could be many reasons why your internet is slow, as there are a number of things that affect the speed of your broadband:

• The type of connection: There are three main ways of connecting to the internet: Fibre-To-The-Home (FTTH) which is fairly rare and only available in certain places, Fibre-To-The-Cabinet (FTTC) which is the most common fibre-optic connection, and ADSL which uses copper phone cables. ADSL connections are usually cheaper, but they’re less reliable and slower than fibre broadband
• Distance from the exchange: If you have ADSL broadband, being further away from the exchange means your connection becomes weaker and experiences ‘noise’. The further the distance, the more interference you experience. This isn’t an issue with fibre broadband
• Lack of password protection: If your broadband doesn’t require a password, anyone can use your internet connection. As well as slowing your broadband speed down, it’s also a security risk
• Other electrical devices: Other technology that emits wireless signals can cause interference. Try to keep your router as far away from these as possible
• Outdated internet browser: If you’re not using the latest version, this could be slowing down your speed. Make sure you’re using the most up-to-date browser – not only does this enable a quicker connection, it can also help improve your online security
• Exchange contention ratio: There’s a limit to how many people can share an exchange if they have ADSL2+ broadband. Some ISPs will prioritise your bandwidth based on the package you buy – so customers with a more expensive package may be given priority over customers paying less
• Number of connections in your home: The more devices you have connected to the internet, the more of a drain this will be on your bandwidth. To help speed things up, switch off devices you’re not using, or at least disconnect them from the internet
• Quality of cables and router: Old hardware can cause slow speeds, but many ISPs will replace or upgrade your router and cables for free as part of a package
• Location of your router: Where your router is placed can affect the strength of its signal. It should be placed on a table or shelf, rather than on the floor. It should also be clear of any obstructions, such as walls or large pieces of furniture
• Weather conditions: Storms will affect phone lines, while freezing temperatures can affect underground cables
• Viruses/spyware/adware: As well as slowing down your PC, computer viruses and malware can also slow down your internet connection. Download some anti-virus software (there are plenty of free ones) and perform regular scans to avoid this
• Time of day: Like traffic, you’ll find more people on the internet during the ‘peak’ hours of 6pm to 11pm. Broadband speeds can be slower during these periods, so it may be better to download films or music during the day or in the middle of night.

What Should I Know Before Buying Broadband?

For most businesses and even homes, internet access is just as important as their other utilities. Most businesses use internet access for everything from customer communication (email, VOIP, etc) to credit card processing.

Without internet access, some businesses simply can’t operate. In addition to business needs, an increasing amount of home users are using the internet as their primary source of entertainment. This is due to the growth of video streaming services and social media.

The purpose of this post is to highlight some of the important factors when you are choosing an internet service provider (ISP) for your business or home.

Availability

Unfortunately, this is the biggest deciding factor in rural areas. A high-speed cable or fiber connection doesn’t do your business any good if the provider doesn’t service your area.

A surprising number of businesses and homeowners have just a few options, usually one of which is a satellite internet option and either some type of broadband (AT&T U-Verse, Comcast Xfinity, etc) or 4G-LTE network (which can be surprisingly good with the right equipment and plan).

Speed

As a business, you must ensure that you have sufficient speed to not disrupt daily use, even when demand is at its highest. To some customers, speed is the most important factor when determining an ISP. They simply want the fastest internet they can get in their area. This is completely based on location and what’s offered to you as a business or consumer. 

The number you are looking at when comparing plans is called the “Bandwidth”. Bandwidth is simply the volume of information per unit of time that the transmission medium can sustain. Some customers get lucky and have access to fiber connections with of over 1000 Megabits (Mbps) per second while some rural businesses are stuck on 3 to 6Mbps DSL connections.

Also, just because the speed is advertised, doesn’t mean that’s the speed you’ll be receiving. It’s definitely worth checking with neighboring businesses to see what kind of speed you can realistically expect.

Cost

In order for an ISP to make sense for you, it needs to have a good balance between speed and price. For example, if you’re running a small business out of your home, $1000 a month for a dedicated fiber connection probably won’t make sense for you.

To some companies, the price doesn’t matter as much as the speed & reliability. The same $1000-a-month dedicated fiber connection mentioned above might be a no-brainer for a growing small business with 25 employees. As with most aspects of businesses, you’ll need to weigh the pros and cons.

Type of Connection

The type of connection has a big influence on how fast the internet “feels”. Satellite internet is notorious for seeming “slow”, despite having respectable download speeds (Up to 25Mbps on HughesNet). The reasoning behind this is sheer physics. The signal is sent from your satellite and travels around 22,000 miles out to space.

From there, the satellite in orbit contacts a network center to find the requested site. That information is then sent back to the satellite in orbit and then back to you. Even at the speed of light, this process takes almost 500 milliseconds plus any additional processing time for the request, which takes place on both the server and client side.

I know it doesn’t sound like much, but adding an extra 1/2 second to every action makes it seem so slow if you’re used to a traditional connection. By contrast, even the latency on 4G-LTE signals is around 100 milliseconds versus 400+ milliseconds for satellite connections. Other connections, such as Fiber, offer much lower latency, often under 20 milliseconds.

Reliability

Reliability is likely the biggest factor, especially for business customers. Having unreliable internet is stressful and counterproductive. If you are in an industry that can’t risk internet service interruptions, it’s wise to consider an ISP that offers a Service Level Agreement (SLA). SLA’s are service contracts that specifically state how reliable the connection should be.

Customer Services goes hand-in-hand with reliability. Regardless of how good the connection is, something will one day go wrong. Whether it’s dying hardware or a physically damaged line, it’s extremely likely there will be issues one day.

Good customer service is a measure of how fast they can help get you back up and running. Most businesses can’t wait several days for new hardware to be shipped to them. They require a higher level of service and a good service provider understands that.

The ISP choice is probably the most important decision related to the connectivity of your home or business.

Why is my Wi-Fi Slow?

Most of the time when someone complains that their Wi-Fi is slow, it is in fact their broadband connection. There are a number of factors that contribute to a slow broadband connection, some steps you can take to establish exactly where the problem lies include:

• First try to load four or five different websites to eliminate the possibility of it only being one particular website that is loading slowly. A single website loading slowly indicates a problem with that site’s server rather than a problem with your internet connection.
• If all websites load slowly, try loading them again but using a different device to ensure it isn’t the device that is the problem. Rebooting the device or scanning it for malware and viruses could resolve the issue.
• If neither of the above two steps help, try connecting a computer directly to your modem router using an ethernet cable and performing a speed test. Stop all downloads and streaming activity before doing the test if possible, so there is as little interference as possible. It is the same reason the test should be done on a device that is connected directly to the modem router instead of via Wi-Fi. If the results are way below the speed you signed up for, your next steps could be:
  • Rebooting your modem router and if installed, the nbn™ connection box. Do this by unplugging the power supply for both devices for about 10 seconds before reconnecting. Wait until both devices have restarted and reconnected before running a speed test again.
  • Check the network status page of your ISP for any known issues in your area. Planned work and hardware failures by both the NBN Co and your ISP can cause outages and network degradation, which will affect your ability to connect to the internet until resolved.
  • Calling your ISP. If rebooting your modem router doesn’t help, and there are no network issues reported by your ISP, you will need to contact them for further assistance. Having taken some of the above steps first will help your ISP focus on other possible causes, and they will discuss the next steps with you. It is important to remember that your internet speed will fluctuate throughout the day, not only as a result of your own activities such as streaming Netflix, or downloading a new game, but also the activities of your neighbours. This is one reason why nbn™ and ADSL plans always list an average evening speed.

If however, the results from your speed test are close to what you signed up for, the issue could well be Wi-Fi related, and caused by the number of devices using your broadband connection at the same time and/or what each user is doing online.

If you signed up for a 100 Mbps plan, the advertised speed is the total maximum theoretical speed, not the speed every device can enjoy. When more than one device is connected at the same time, the top speed available on your plan is split between all devices, and not always evenly.

It is not uncommon to find normal browsing and sending receiving of email being prioritized above any video streaming – including YouTube – and online gaming. Alternatively, you could be using a channel that is affected by outside interference from other electronic devices, and your ISP will be able to assist you with switching to a different channel to see if that doesn’t improve service.

And if you only have problems with speed in certain rooms, this would suggest the Wi-Fi access point is too far away, or there are too many solid objects blocking the signal, in which case adding a mesh system or Wi-Fi extender could solve the problem.

How to Compare Broadband Speeds

To accurately compare broadband deals, you’ll need to provide your postcode. This way, you can see exactly what’s available in your area, as not all providers offer services nationwide.

Once you’ve entered your postcode, you’ll be presented with deals that clearly specify what average speed you’re likely to achieve.

Before purchasing a new deal, it’s important to check with the provider that the given quote is realistic. Broadband speeds vary depending on location, so you may receive a connection that’s slower than the advertised speed.

Which Connection is Best For Broadband?

Fiber-optic internet is arguably the best connection type, so we’ll start there. Like the name suggests, fiber refers to an internet connection that comes to your home via fiber-optic cable, which uses pulses of light along thin strands — or fibers — of glass or plastic to transmit data. These fiber-optic strands support speeds and reliability that are superior to other connection types.

Fiber-optic can deliver download speeds as fast as 2 gigabits (2,000 megabits per second) — fast enough to download a two-hour movie in HD in less than a minute — but you’re likely to find max download speeds around 1,000Mbps from most fiber-optic providers. Upload speeds, which are especially important when working and learning from home, are also significantly faster with fiber-optic service.

Availability is the only real disadvantage with fiber. Laying enough fiber-optic cables to connect entire cities and regions is a huge logistical challenge, and with lots of competition and red tape to cut through, it’s been slow going for any of the major service providers to expand coverage to underserved areas.

Consequently, fiber internet is only available to around 45% of US households and primarily those in urban areas, according to the Federal Communications Commission.

Fiber connections used to be fairly expensive as far as internet plans go, but most providers have lowered their prices in recent years. As a result, fiber internet is now likely to be as competitively priced as any other connection type — and considering the speeds you get for the price, it’s actually now one of the most cost-effective internet types. No wonder everyone wants it.

How Does the Broadband System Work?

Broadband is actually a high-speed internet connection to enjoy everything the internet offers. It is a permanent internet connection. It brings an internet signal to and from a device through a traditional telephone line.

Previously it was using a dial-up connection and not able to deliver the speed we are presently enjoying. Copper and Fiber are the common home broadband for fixed-line.

ISP- Internet Service Provider offers to supply the customers with required devices and equipment to enter the digital world. Some internet service providers have their own infrastructure. But this way is expensive and complicated. Most of the broadband services come to houses via a fixed-line.

This setting manages a wide range of frequencies and that’s why it is called broadband. You can connect to the internet without Ethernet just buying the right little adapter. It quickly adds Wi-Fi to any desktop.

Why is Broadband Important?

Today high-speed internet has become an integral need of our daily life. Regional commerce, health, education, cultural enrichment, public safety, government operations, and so many other things depend on the internet and its speed. Superior connectivity, availability, and desired bandwidth are the more important features.

Benefits of faster broadband-

• Remote working
• Easy cloud computing
• Better communications
• Better social media experience

Today broadband has become an important part of our lives. A high-speed internet connection makes our every online task easy and smooth. This blog aims to clear all common doubts that a lot of people face every day regarding the internet and broadband.

How is Broadband Measured?

Broadband speeds are measured in ‘megabits per second’, often shortened to Mb Mbits p/s or Mbps. Bits are tiny units of data, with a megabit representing a million of them.

The higher the number of Mbps (megabits per second) you have, the speedier your online activity should be. A high number should mean that downloads complete more quickly, webpages load faster, streaming of music or videos begins more rapidly and any video calls or online games played should display smoothly.

The table below gives a rough idea of how your connection speed will affect the time it takes to do tasks online:

Internet connection speed	Time to load a typical web page	Time to download a typical 5 minute song	Streaming video quality
56k dial-up modem	14 seconds	12 mins 30 secs	Low quality
256k broadband	3 seconds	3 mins
512k broadband	1.6 seconds	1 min 30 secs
1Mbps broadband	0.8 seconds	41secs
2Mbps broadband	0.4 seconds	20 secs	Medium quality
4Mbps broadband	0.1 seconds	5 secs
6Mbps broadband	Instant	3.5 secs
8Mbps broadband	Instant	2.5 secs	TV quality
12Mbps broadband	Instant	1 sec
24Mbps broadband	Instant	Instant	Superfast
50Mbps broadband	Instant	Instant
100Mbps broadband	Instant	Instant
+100Mbps broadband	Instant	Instant	Ultrafast

If you want to complete more than one of these tasks at once, then you will need to add up how many Mbps it will take.

What Determines Broadband Speed?

There are a number of factors which can affect the speed of your broadband connection.

The distance your home is from the telephone exchange, the time of day you go online and the number of people in your home using the internet at the same time, can all play a part in slowing down your connection.

Your device may also not be set-up correctly or the line that provides the internet connection to your home may be damaged, while your internet provider’s traffic management policies could also be a factor.

Is All Broadband The Same?

Not all broadband services and ISPs are the same. Choosing the right (fastest) service is generally much more important than choosing between ISPs. While higher-speed superfast broadband is available to 95% of premises, many users do not realize.

Selecting a good ISP will ensure that you maximize your broadband speeds and stand the best possible chance of fixing any faults that you have (or may have in the future) on your line.

The broadband choices available to you will depend on where you are located. In general, if you live in a town or city, you will have more choices available to you than if you live in a rural location. The following broadband services may be available to you in your location, ranked in terms of broadband speed:

• ultrafast broadband (with download speeds over 100 Mbps), delivered using Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP), cable (e.g. Virgin) or G.fast.
• superfast broadband services (with download speeds between 30 Mbps and 80 Mbps), delivered by BT’s latest fibre-optic broadband network – available from BT Broadband and other ISPs
• basic broadband (ADSL and ADSL2+) services delivered by BT’s network and offered by BT Broadband and other ISPs
• basic broadband Local Loop Unbundled (LLU) services using ADSL2+, offered by a range of providers (such as Sky and TalkTalk) and smaller ISPs

Despite the fact that superfast broadband is available to about 95% of premises, many people are unaware that the latest (and fastest) broadband services are now available to them.

How Good is 100 Mbps Internet?

An internet speed of 100 Mbps is fast—but it’s not extremely fast. It’s just above average for most internet users—powerful enough to let you stream videos, play online games, and participate in video chat meetings on a handful of devices with minimal slowdowns.

Although 100 Mbps is a fast internet speed for most people, the question of what makes your connection speed truly good depends on your needs as an internet user and what’s available in your area.

What is a Good Internet Speed?

Internet speed	What you can do
0–5 Mbps	Send emails, search Google, stream in HD on a single device
5–40 Mbps	Stream in HD on a few devices, play online games, run 1–2 smart devices
40–100 Mbps	Stream in 4K on 2–4 devices, play online games with multiple players, download big files quickly (500 MB to 2 GB), run 3–5 smart devices
100–500 Mbps	Stream in 4K on 5+ devices, download very big files very quickly (2–30 GB), run 5+ smart devices
500–1,000+ Mbps	Stream in 4K on 10+ devices, download and upload gigabyte-plus–sized files at top speed, do basically anything on lots of devices with no slowdowns

A good internet speed is about 100–200 Mbps. That’s enough bandwidth to let you stream videos, play online games, and participate in video chat meetings on a range of devices. And it will promise fast internet even when there are several people on your Wi-Fi.

Granted, you won’t always need internet that fast, especially if you mostly go online to check email, read headlines, and do a bit of streaming in HD. The Federal Communications Commission defines broadband internet as anything that can achieve a minimum of 25 Mbps download speeds and 3 Mbps upload speeds—which is plenty for low-key internet surfers.

On the other hand, 100–200 Mbps is hardly the max connection speed you can get from an internet package. These days the fastest internet plans frequently top out at 1,000 Mbps. Xfinity even has a plan that delivers 2,000 Mbps download speeds, which is not necessary for most people. (The plan is also ridiculously expensive.)

Still, plans in the range of 500–1,000 Mbps are useful if you live with a lot of people and everyone is on the internet at the same time. You’ll require a ton more bandwidth as you have more users doing speed-intensive stuff like streaming movies, playing online games, and/or making calls on video-chat apps.

Will 100 Mbps be Fast Enough For You?

Download	Time it takes with 100 Mbps
Small PDF (50 KB)	Less than a second
Ebook (2.5 MB)	Less than a second
ZIP file of .jpgs (425 MB)	34 seconds
HD video file (2 GB)	2.7 minutes
Video game (30 GB)	40 minutes
iPhone backup (256GB)	5.7 hours
Terabyte cloud drive (1 TB)	22 hours

A connection speed of 100 Mbps will be fast enough for you to download small files quickly, stream movies in HD, play online games on a handful of devices, and operate a few smart-home devices.

But 100 Mbps won’t be fast enough if you live in a large household and a lot of people are using your Wi-Fi to do high-bandwidth activities at the same time. Also, 100 Mbps speeds will require longer wait times to download large files.

To make sure your internet speeds are fast enough, consider ordering an internet package that sets aside 25 Mbps for each person living in your household. If you’re living alone, then 25 Mbps may be enough. But if you’re living with three others, then 100 Mbps will be right on the money.

However, any more roommates than that and you may want to upgrade to 200 Mbps, 500 Mbps or even 1,000 Mbps speeds depending on what you use your internet for.

Here’s a quick breakdown of what you can do on 100 Mbps:

• Streaming HD video on several devices
• Playing online multiplayer games on two or three devices
• Running three to five smart-home devices
• Participating in group Zoom meetings with HD video switched on

Here’s a snapshot of activities that will require connection speeds faster than 100 Mbps:

• Streaming 4K video on several devices
• Playing online multiplayer games on 4 to 10 devices
• Running five or more smart-home devices
• Participating in group Zoom meetings while three or four housemates are also doing any of these activities

How do I Choose the Best Broadband in my Area?

Choosing an internet service provider is one of the most confusing buying decisions that a lot of people have to make. Making this decision has gotten harder in recent times with the increase in service providers and internet usage.

The Internet has become a fundamental part of our lives. Almost all of us need the internet to get through our day to day jobs. This makes it even more important that you choose the best Internet Service Provider in your area for your home or your office. In this article, we will outline the major factors that you should consider while buying a broadband for your home.

Understand your Internet Usage

The very first step to buying a broadband for your home is understanding your internet usage. List down the activities that you use internet services for and the amount of data they consume.

List out the top providers and their plans

Speak to your neighbours to find out the most used internet service provider in your area. Chances are that the most used internet service provider has the best customer service in your area. Create a list of 4-5 internet service providers in your locality and list down their plans and tariff basis your internet usage.

Compare the offers

After making a list of the top 4-5 internet service providers in your locality, lookout for offers that each of these providers are offering. Most ISPs have offers on their full time plans. For example, with most 6 months plans, ACT Fibernet offers a free router/free extra month of internet and free installation. These offers will help you save a lot of cost in the long run.

Run a speed test

After purchasing your internet plan, do run an internet speed test to check the speed test results that your ISP is delivering. You can check your internet speed on ookla speed test. Know more about speed test results here.

Which is Better Wi-Fi or Broadband?

Seemingly, Wi-Fi technology offers much more convenience than broadband internet the way it allows you to connect to the internet via multiple devices simultaneously, even on the move.

Read Also: Make Money As A Computer Technician

Convenient, although it is, you can only connect to the web within a small area, a room or small office, typically, a few square meters. Moreover, even with the improved data speed of a Wi-Fi connection over the years, it’s still far behind the data speeds a high-speed broadband connection can offer you.

On the contrary, broadband connections directly connect to your stationary devices offering faster internet speeds with greater consistency. However, you would still need a internet wifi router to get broadband connectivity on your mobile devices. All you gotta do is couple your broadband connection with a good quality Wi-Fi router.

One more downside of a Wi-Fi connection is that it is susceptible to interference while a broadband is largely impervious, until the physical connection is damaged. Also, you can connect to the internet through a broadband cable anytime, while with a Wi-Fi, you usually have a modem, router, hotspot that need powering on for the connection to work.

It’s likely that you share your Wi-Fi connection with other users, who may connect to the internet, simultaneously, affecting its performance and speed. Typically, telecommunication service providers offer Wi-Fi access to the internet through portable modems, Wi-Fi/USB dongles as you know it.

These either connect directly to the computer through a USB connection or work like a Wi-Fi hotspot, which lets you access the web wirelessly through a device. As for broadband, you don’t require a router/modem at all.

Clearly, both types of broadband connection have their own advantages and disadvantages. However, given the vast amount of data, higher speeds and superior security you enjoy with a broadband connection, you are more likely to go for it. You can get Wi-Fi connectivity with the free Wi-Fi router, anyway.