TalkTalk Broadband Deals

When it comes to choosing broadband your requirements will vary depending on how you live your life. It all depends on how many users are in the household, how many devices are going to be connected at the same time, and what budget you have available. Some people need essential services for browsing the Internet and using social media sites, whereas some multi-user households all want to be able to stream, download and play games at the same time. 

The faster and more robust the service, the more you would expect to pay, but there are many deals out there, and TalkTalk has been a leading market provider for many years now. It has also become something of a multi-service industry, and you will find that there are many packages for broadband that also include television services and telephone services. By creating these packages of more than one service, you can save even more money and know that all of your services are looked after in one place. It is important to remember that broadband can be limited by availability depending on where you live, but it is easy to check on services available before you have to make a decision.

One thing to remember when looking for a broadband package is not to get too caught up on the prices and making that the focus of your search. Of course, you are looking for the best deal, but you do need to take care that what you think you are paying for it is what you will get. For example, many companies offer a lower price as an introduction, and it only lasts for the first few months, but this can be hidden in the small print. 

So before deciding on whether something is cheaper than what you already have, be sure to read all the details. You also need to remember that the duration of the contract is binding, and should you want to get out of it early there will be fees to pay. Generally, you will be asked to sign up for either 12 or 18 months, and to be honest, a more extended contract is no problem as long as the office what you want. A few new players to the market are offering more flexible terms on a rolling basis. 

One thing to consider is that contracts do not tend to allow you to move house; they are not transferable services because broadband differs in every area. So if you are renting, planning to move, or maybe a student in accommodation take care that you don’t get tied in for longer than you will be there otherwise you will have to pay the termination fees. There is also no point in overpaying, which is why the connection speed is so important. Your connection will be fast enough and reliable enough at a lower rate with less usage, so if that is all you need, don’t panic about getting something even quicker as you’ll be wasting money.

You will also find that there is more than one type of broadband available, ADSL, and fibre-optic. The latter is often referred to as fibre and there is no difference at all; it is just a different way of saying it. For many years we relied on the copper telephone lines and the mobile phone network to bring broadband into our homes. Fibre is the upgrade, and it makes things much easier and faster with cables that are made of either glass or plastic. 

This means more information can be transmitted faster, so you get a better service. To do this, the cabling has had to be replaced all over the country, and the current state of affairs the majority have access to some or all speeds of fibre-optic. Sadly some people will still find there is very little coverage in the area, but there is usually an alternative. 

This means that fibre-optic is always faster than ADSL connections, but within that, there is still a variation on the speed. It generally depends on how the company you are using chooses to bring the connection from the telephone cabinet in the street to your property. Fibre offers speeds between 36Mbps right up to 900Mbps, so you need to establish what is available in your area and compare that with what you actually need before you decide on which supplier is going to be the one for you. Another advantage of fibre is that it does not require a telephone line; however, currently, most providers still include these in the package, and there is no working around it. 

When you are ready to start looking for a broadband deal, it is time to do some checking on the coverage in your area. Your current broadband speed can be tested using various methods on the Internet and tells you what you already have. Having an idea of your upload and download speeds means you can better look for something most appropriate and we have a short guide to help you decide where you should be pitching your search.

In a home with 1 to 2 people who are using social media, browsing the net and not much else a speed of 0 to 30 Mbps is acceptable which means ADSL could be an option as the average speed is 10Mbps

For larger households where there are three or more people who generally want to use the Internet at the same time and do things like streaming videos, or playing games it is better to look for speeds around 30 to 60Mbps. In this scenario, fibre is a much better option as it’s more likely to give you what you need, and ADSL is probably going to be too slow.

In a multi-person household where streaming is of importance to everyone, and you have gamers and people downloading things, it is better to aim for 60 to 100Mbs. This means you are looking at fast fibre packages, don’t worry; the cost doesn’t tend to be that much more, and it is well worth having.

Finally, if you are running a business from home, and require downloading large files and teleconferencing, you need something more robust. Look for speeds of 100Mbps to ensure you are well covered and don’t risk buffering.