OneStream Broadband Deals

At one stage, there was little in the way of choice when it came to broadband with only a couple of companies in the marketplace. Over the last few years, there has been massive expansion, and now many different companies are offering a wide range of deals which is perfect for making sure you have an excellent choice. However knowing what to get can be slightly tricky, which is why we have provided a series of reviews of all of the companies and the packages they have to offer. 

This helps you compare them side-by-side and make an informed decision. The speed of the broadband package you need depends entirely on how you intend to use your Internet. If you’re only browsing the web and checking emails, you do not need a particularly quick connection. Whereas if you plan to stream movies or play games, you must ensure that you have a more robust connection to avoid buffering an interruption to your services.

What you will find is a range of bright and shiny packages on offer from all companies, everyone will be promising you the Earth, and claiming they have the best deal for you. So, you need to exercise a little caution and make sure that what you think you are getting is, in fact, what will happen. One thing that is common is to offer an introductory lower rate, that appears to cover the whole of the contract period. But in actual fact, it is only for a few short months and then the right reverts back to a higher standard. In this case, you might think you were going to be saving money and later discover you’re not. So check the small print before you sign up to make sure you get precisely what is on offer. 

Some companies have rolling monthly contracts, with very little commitment meaning you can cancel at any time. Others prefer you to tie in for a period of 12 to 18 months, which in itself is okay provided you are happy with your current accommodation. We mention accommodation because the fees for ending a broadband contract early can be hefty, and often moving house is seen as a termination of the deal because of the differences in services in different geographical locations. Sometimes the service just cannot be moved, and therefore you would end up paying to break a contract rather than just move house. This tends to apply to people in rented accommodation, or student accommodation especially if you are then going back to a parents home why you will not be the billpayer and therefore will not need a new package.

Broadband has changed over the years; initially, we used to use the telephone network and the copper wires to transport data and then the mobile phone network. New developments saw the introduction of fibre-optic cables, and these were so named because the cable used to transport the information is made of plastic or glass. You will often hear it referred to as just fibre, but it is the same thing. 

The new wiring means that the speeds we can achieve are much higher than before, which has enabled us to augment how we use the Internet and now streaming services and downloads are popular. This naturally leads to customers wanting a faster service, and the whole country has undergone an upgrade, so services are available in most areas. There are a few areas where you will not get a particularly fast fibre connection, so you do need to check in advance. Fibre gives speeds of around 30Mbps to 900Mbps, which is significantly quicker than ADSL, which averaged just 10Mbps, so you can see why it is more popular.

So if you find a deal you think might be the one for you, the first thing to do is check the coverage on offer from that provider in your area. That is not the coverage that they are advertising as being available, as this is their maximum speed. You actually want to check your own postcode or landline number in order to establish what they can actually deliver to you. You then might want to check your current speed so you can compare the two. This is a simple test online and will help you decide whether you need to get something faster or whether the speed you currently get is acceptable for what you need. 

As a rule, if you have only one or two people in the household and only really use the Internet for sending receiving emails, social media and Web searching you do not need anything particularly quick. You will be fine with an Internet connection of 0Mbps to 30Mbps, and you might find that an ADSL package will suit you perfectly.

If there are more than three people in your home, you will probably want to be looking at something faster, especially if you have a lot of streaming services or downloads going on. In this case, it is better to aim for a service of between 30Mbps and 60Mbps to avoid buffering or drop out.

In very large households, student accommodation, and other groups of people you might want to go for 60Mbps to 100Mbps especially when you have multiple devices or want to connect at the same time including mobile phones, desktops, laptops, voice assistance, and television streaming services. You will get a robust service that avoids any buffering and dropping out that will annoy users, so it is a better option. 

The faster services which tend to be over 100Mbps tend to be only really needed by those who run businesses from home and download really large files. Of course, you can subscribe to this in any situation, but you do risk paying for services you are not using. It does guarantee a superfast connection even with many people doing many things all at the same time.