Broadband: More speed, less money - Part 1

A lot has changed since we last looked at broadband in detail. The latest reports indicate that more than half of all people in the UK with home internet access are now using broadband, with an increasing number of companies queuing up to provide a more comprehensive service and others providing content suitable for downloading for broadband users. There is now more choice of services, speeds and features, while prices have fallen.

Having more choice is always a good thing but the spread of deals on offer can be confusing. In this feature we are going to explain the benefits of using these new technologies and services. We'll also look at which will be best for you.

In the past, readers have tried to subscribe to broadband and been told it was not possible because of technical limitations, but recent developments mean that it might now, or very soon, be possible. So read on if you have previously drawn a broadband blank.

Changing landscape
Just a year ago, it was difficult - and impossible outside major cities - to get a broadband connection faster than 512Kbit/s. In fairness, few users saw the need. Now legal music download services, downloadable television and radio shows and updates and patches for your software all require a chunk of your connection.

Having more bandwidth means that the connection can be used to carry data for several applications at once, as well as the recognised benefits of broadband such as instant connection to the web and being able to use your telephone while online. This is particularly handy if you have more than one PC, so the kids can get on with their homework while you indulge in your own interests.

When we last wrote about broadband, most users could get only a 512Kbit/s connection and it would cost about £30 per month. However, BT has recently started to offer ISPs a different way of buying wholesale broadband, and more operators have taken advantage of changes in telecoms regulations to install their own equipment in BT exchanges.

The principle benefit to consumers is that internet service providers (ISPs) can now meter, or 'cap', the amount of data downloaded in the same way they meter time used on dial-up services. This means that high speeds such as 1Mbit/s up to 8Mbit/s do not have to mean sky-high subscription fees, particularly if you choose not to download lots of large files. More on this soon.

Rating the relative value of different deals is like comparing chalk with cheese: it's all a question of what you want to use broadband for. Prices and availability vary around the country, so we're not going to try to pick the best deals as this would ultimately be meaningless. Instead, see below for finding and comparing deals. The websites listed update offers and prices daily.

To give you an idea of how prices have fallen though, a capped ADSL 1Mbit/s connection can cost as little as £18 a month, or around £30 for an uncapped connection. For those who don't want or need that much bandwidth, capped 512Mbit/s lines can now be had for as little as £15 per month. If you are paying more than this and are not in a long-term contract with your ISP, it may be worth switching. Your new choice of ISP will be able to tell you how to go about moving your connection.

Cable providers have also upped their offerings to compete. Telewest is now offering 256Kbit/s broadband for £15 a month, while its most expensive service is £50 a month for a 3Mbit/s line. NTL currently offers a 300Kbit/s connection for £18 a month, going up to £38 for the fastest line, at 1.5Mbit/s, but will introduce new fees in the new year starting at £18 a month for 1Mbit/s. However, existing subscribers will have to fork out £25 to move from the old tariff.

Making new connections
In the early days of ADSL, it was only possible to get a connection if you lived within 6km of a BT exchange. Even those who met this criteria sometimes could not get the service, as telephone lines do not always follow the routes you'd expect, and some of the copper wiring beneath our feet has degraded in quality since it was laid decades ago.

However, BT recently removed the distance limit for ADSL connections following successful trials of ADSL signals over distances exceeding 10km. Almost everybody who is connected to a suitable exchange can now get a 512Kbit/s connection; faster lines will still need to be suitably close to the exchange (about 6km for 1Mbit/s and 3.5km for 2Mbit/s).

BT says that 99.6 per cent of households will be connected to a broadband-enabled exchange by August 2005. The bad news is that the other 0.4 per cent (about 570 exchanges covering 100,000 buildings mostly in rural areas) probably won't get an ADSL service at all.

BT says it will try to offer other means of connection, possibly using a satellite or other wireless service, although the set-up costs could be very high. One option already in use by some rural communities is a scheme to bring in a satellite broadband service and then share it around the community using Wi-Fi or a similar wireless technology.

This requires effort but is not beyond reach, and there are plenty of communities that have already succeeded. The Community Broadband Network offers a mentoring service for interested communities, with advice on the technology and costs involved.

By next August, the vast majority of us will be within reach of some kind of broadband. With more than 10 million people already surfing at speed, that makes the connection itself a commodity, so providers are having to distinguish themselves on the features they include.

These can be added security options, the ability to share the connection wirelessly, free broadband modem, no 12-month contract or content, such as free access to music downloads. Choosing the right one is a matter of working out which would give you the most benefit for your money.

Suit yourself
For infrequent surfers who want a broadband connection, a capped service may be the answer. This is where the ISP allows users to transfer a certain amount of data each month. Once the limit is reached, the user cannot download any more data, and this means no more web pages as strictly speaking, viewing a website involves downloading its text, images and other files.

Most services enable users to buy extra data, by the megabyte, while others will not work until the service is upgraded to a new tariff or the next month begins. Caps range from 1Gb (around 4 hours' surfing per day, or 250 downloaded music tracks) to around 6Gb per month, which would cover most downloading needs including film trailers and music webcasts.

Most consumer services are now capped in some way, although you can still find uncapped lines relatively cheaply; take a look at some of the comparison sites below to find out where.

Pay as you go
ISPs have cast an envious eye at the success of mobile phone companies and introduced a broadband version of the highly successful pay-as-you-go service. For those who don't want to always be connected but who want high-speed access when they are, pay-as-you-go offers flexibility.

BT ran a trial of a 5p per minute service over the summer but has not said whether it will be opening a full service. However, Metronet is, albeit in a slightly different way. Users are charged a minimum fee per month, currently £12 for a 512Kbit/s service, rising to £19 for a 2Mbit/s line. This includes 200Mb of data transfer. Once users go above that limit, they are charged around a quarter of a penny per megabyte, up to a set maximum per month (£23 for 512Kbit/s users).

A similar system is operated by a number of other service providers, allowing users to buy extra credit once they have reached the monthly limit of the download cap on their account. It's not for those downloading large files, but for occasional users it has some benefits.

Easy networking
Computers are beginning to join broadband connections in the commodity market, and it is now possible to put together a fully functioning PC for around £300. With this in mind, more of us are now setting up home networks; a growing number of people now have two or more desktop PCs, a streaming media device under the television or a work notebook computer that comes home occasionally.

Service providers are starting to sit up and take notice of this; instead of the USB broadband modem that was common a year ago, many ISPs now offer an Ethernet modem or a combined modem and router. You don't need to worry about the names though, as all it means is that you can link PCs together, with or without wires, to share data and the broadband service.

Even if you can connect two PCs to the modem, it's going to mean either that they are both close by, or you will have to dig up floorboards or have Ethernet cables trailing all over your house. The answer is wireless technology, which has also come a long way in the past couple of years.

There are various 'flavours' of Wi-Fi access, the main ones being '802.11b' and '802.11g'. The 'b' standard is cheaper but slower and is slightly less reliable than 'g', which is fast becoming the dominant standard.

It's now possible to buy a wireless 'g' card for a notebook or USB adapter for a desktop PC, which will talk to one of the wireless modems included with some ISPs' packages. Wanadoo, for instance, offers a wireless pack when you sign up for £80, whereas UKOnline sells one for £70 with a connection.

Computers aren't the only things that can use a broadband connection. The Xbox and PlayStation2 games consoles can be used to play games online and interact with other players around the world. This requires an adapter for the console, which can be bought from any high-street or online games shop.

A 12-month subscription to the Xbox Live service is included with the Xbox Live adapter, but you will have to pay for it after that. There is no charge for online gaming using a PlayStation2; you just have to own compatible games.

If you don't want to connect a wire between the console and the router, you can always add a wireless 'bridge' instead, which will allow the console to connect to a wireless router. Of course, you will need to buy and install a wireless router, either from your ISP or elsewhere.

Making free or very cheap phone calls over your internet connection, using a technology called Voice over Internet Protocol, is something we covered in detail in our Internet telephony feature. You don't need broadband to use it but it will make things easier if you do. No service provider currently offers an internet telephony package but it is likely that 2005 will see the first ones included with ADSL connections.

One company, Westell, is working on a unit that combines wireless access point, ADSL modem and cordless phone. The company hopes to sign a deal with a UK ISP to sell the box some time this year.