If you live in the countryside or you run a rural business you could benefit from proposals too, with plans for rural broadband is already set to receive £530m in this parliament, although not all of that funding has yet been allocated. Mr Osborne also announced in his Autumn Statement the release of more government data, on road works, railways and other information, which he hopes will encourage software developers to write applications for Smartphones and computers. Rural broadband campaigners claim that such small businesses would be more likely to be based outside cities if investment was directed toward improving networks in the countryside.

What concerns people more though is reliability and many ask why is technology the preserve of the city or town dweller? Many are prepared to pay for a quality service, with adequate bandwidth, as well as reliability and not 6mb at 6am which goes down steadily during the day and at 6pm delivers a massive 0.25! Such a disparity makes it easy for BT to say you get 6mb when in reality this is not the case.

This isn’t about providing access to time-wasting social media sites or idle browsing, it’s about ensuring that Britons can run their businesses, shop and access the latest news and local information. By 2015 it could also be the way we watch television and buy music, films and books. This is important infrastructure and the Government needs to ensure that it is in place.

The important point to remember is why you want broadband at all, and what you’ll use it for. The level of service required by a corporate user will be very different to that wanted by a normal domestic user, for example. The business user will want the fastest speeds available and a high level of technical support. But even with medium users, the needs will vary, with occasional senders of email requiring less than enthusiastic social network users and live chat addicts.

Take into account the length of contract whether you’re looking for mobile broadband, business broadband or any of the domestic broadband deals. Monthly rolling contracts are often a better idea than 12 month or 18 month ones if you may have to terminate and don’t want to pay for the lost months.

Many broadband providers also have monthly usage caps embedded in their contracts, whereby if you shoot over a certain level you’ll be charged, so this also will depend on your expected level of usage.

Broadband, as well as keeping you connected 24 hours a day, dispenses with the need for a telephone line.  Many companies such as Virgin Media Broadband and Sky Broadband offer 3-in-one packages of telephone, broadband and satellite TV provided down the same connection, which can save you money when you consider that telephone calls are often free nationally with such an arrangement.

Tiscali Broadband, TalkTalk Broadband, Think Broadband, BT Total Broadband, PlusNet Broadband and many more broadband providers now crowd this very competitive market, and it pays to shop around for broadband deals by using broadband comparison websites to find the best ones on offer.  This is good advice whether you’re taking out a broadband contract for the first time or are due for renewal on an existing one.

When choosing broadband providers, you may be better off choosing a monthly rolling contract rather than a fixed one of 12 or 18 months, because if you end it early you will often have to pay for the whole term.

Availability Test

The first thing that should be done, even prior to a broadband comparison, is to check availability to see which broadband providers you can sign up with.  There is no need to waste time comparing broadband packages for a provider that you cannot receive services from.  There are many places online where you can perform a free local availability test.

Internet Habits

After you have narrowed down the broadband providers in your area, next you want to determine your internet habits.  How often to you access the internet?  What do you do when you are online?  Do you expect to download a lot or play games online?  All of these are important because you may or may not require a broadband package with top speeds.  If you do not use the internet very often, a low monthly access cap is a less expensive option.

Computer Specifications

Find out your computer specifications and the type of router or modem you are using, as these could have some effect on broadband performance.  Some broadband providers have packages that work best with certain types of computers and modems.  Each package will provide a list of required system specifications, and you can then determine which package will work best with your computer equipment.

Broadband Deliver UK (BDUK) has to be seen to be treating all broadband providers equally and as a result they may remain impartial about giving so much money to BT.  Tough competition for funding is expected from smaller rural projects that are able to prove they can deliver broadband services economically.  The Times also claim that BT is going to help out rural market towns with the new super-fast service.  The upgrade will be trialed next year, to see whether or not it is feasible, but it is safe to say that we will witness faster broadband in the very near future.  It is a move to invest in the future of the network, so we can all expect a reliable and consistent service, regardless of the number of users.  BT’s plans are big, but then again, so is super-fast broadband.

The main contributing factor to internet speed is your location.  The closer you are to your local telephone exchange the faster your broadband connection will be.  Your ability to download quickly will never get better, other than moving to a new house.  But, if your connection has become slower than average, there are a few tricks that you can try to speed it up.

First, let’s look inside the computer.  Run at least two online speed checks to see what your current speed is.  Try downloading during the evening, when there are less people online.  Check the users on the network.  When multiple people in the house are online at the same time, it could reduce internet speed.  Is someone illegally taking your bandwidth?  Some programs may decrease the speed of the computer, such as file-sharing, BBC iPlayer, and various Windows updates.

Moving to the outside of the computer, check for electrical interference.  Excessive use of phone extensions can reduce the line speed.  It has been reported by many people that removing the bell-wire from the master socket makes a significant improvement to download speeds.  A final tip would be to replace the house’s main master socket with a BT iPlate, which will filter interference and boost speed.

If you happen to live in one of the few areas which aren’t connected, then it may be possible to obtain a mobile broadband signal which utilises mobile phone signals.  You don’t even need a phone line installed for this, so it may be worth your while to compare mobile broadband providers to see the deals on offer.  As broadband is a more up to date service than older dial up connections, it may not work if your computer is too old, so it is worth checking to see whether it has the required specifications.

There are many different deals on offer from broadband providers, so it is wise to decide what you want to do online before undertaking a broadband comparison.  If you intend downloading large amounts of songs or videos, then look for a package without download limits or you may find the service isn’t enough for your needs.

Standard Broadband

Traditional broadband is wired into your home or office, and the computer is connected either by a cable or a wireless device to the home or office network.  For people who mainly use the internet at home or at work, this sort of connection is cost effective and meets all requirements for normal use.  Many broadband providers offer this kind of connection.

Mobile Broadband

Compare mobile broadband offers before selection; mobile broadband is entirely different, as it operates in much the same way as a mobile phone, using the same service infrastructure.  A mobile broadband plan will normally include (or require you to purchase) a mobile modem, which is a small USB device (dongle) used to connect your computer to the internet.  This smaller version of the traditional modem allows you to connect to the internet from any location where you can receive a mobile phone signal.

Plans tend to be offered by mobile phone companies instead of those you would approach for internet services, and they can seem a little pricey for a low download limit.  What you receive in return for this extra cost is freedom of movement.  With mobile broadband, UK users can work or surf the web on the move and it is an essential tool for those who travel extensively.