Firstly, you need to decide whether dial-up or broadband is best for you. If you are thinking of signing up for dial-up with a monthly subscription, think again, you will most probably get a better deal if you go for broadband instead.

When choosing an Internet Service Provider (ISP), there are some things you need to look out for, I will explain:

Speed: There is a wide variety of ISPs offering different speeds, anything from 512Kbps* (0.5Mbps**) up to 8Mbps**. The speed you actually get depends on how far your house is from the exchange.

Cost: This can vary quite a bit depending on what speed & features you want. You should never go straight for the cheapest – there is always a reason why they are the cheapest.

Usage Limits: A lot of lower priced broadband tariffs are subject to a limit on how much information you can download. This doesn’t mean just music and video files, it means browsing web pages and sending and receiving emails. Generally, most average users will not download anything near the limits, but those of you who download a lot of music or play games online a lot should go for an unlimited usage or a large usage tariff.

Features: Many ISPs offer additional features as part of a broadband package that maybe very beneficial for some, but not for others. If you don’t have any Anti-Virus or Spam Email protection, you could opt for a package that offers this service. If you want to publish your own personal website, you can easily find a package that includes web space for you to publish your site on, that is included in your monthly subscription.

Look at ISPs that have a proven track record and that offer good customer service based on reviews. You could also check their customer service telephone number. Many ISPs use premium rate numbers that could cost you up to £1 per minute, but there are providers that will offer customers a local rate number for contacting them for support.

When looking for an ISP you could try using a comparison website. They will search through all the ISPs on their site and provide you with details of the best one for you – Be careful, many comparison sites are paid commissions by the ISPs for directing customers to them. This would mean that they are not unbiased and impartial.