Key Things To Know Before Buying A Broadband Connection

Are you looking for a new broadband connection? Well if yes, then it's a great decision. If you've been using mobile data all the while then broadband is an amazing upgrade to your whole internet experience. It allows you a greater capacity to send and receive data meaning, you can do the work far more quickly. Moreover, it allows you to download stuff, access the internet, and browse the web more efficiently. And if you've purchase an expensive data plan then you can do a lot of things without worrying about the data getting exhausted.

So, now that you've made your decision of getting a broadband connection, there are a few things to consider before buying one. Finding a consistent and high-speed broadband connection without burning a hole in your pocket has become quite a task these day. So it's important to know what you're getting from your ISP as a part of your subscription plan.

Things to consider before getting a broadband connection

1. Usage LimitMost of the unlimited broadband plans are regulated with bandwidth caps, also known as Fair Usage Policy (FUP). This is usually mentioned upfront but it's wise to confirm whether your ISP is counting both the upload and download usage, because this factor varies.

If your ISP includes both the usages, even if you haven't downloaded anything but simply shared stuff on the internet, your data could get used up. So it's important to know this before choosing any data plan.

2. Contention RatioContention ratio is a key metric that measures the maximum number of users who can concurrently share the fixed bandwidth on a line. It means that even if you've subscribed to a high-speed internet plan but the number of users accessing it is large, the resultant internet speed per user will be slow.

3. Upload SpeedThe advertised internet speed generally includes downloading only. But under the symmetric speed, your internet connection offers equal upload and download speeds. Since people nowadays are very much engrossed in uploading content on the internet like sharing stuff with people, sending voice mails, uploading YouTube videos, and so on, considering upload speed has become as much important to consumers as download speed.

4. Contention Ratio It is the ratio of the number of people using a single broadband connection. If it is 1:8 then up to 8 houses may simultaneously share the bandwidth. If you've fiber-optic connection, you can even get dedicated 1:1 bandwidth, ensuring that you get the speed you paid for, without any sharing or lagging.

5. Fibre vs Copper CableWired broadband with copper cable is offered along with a fixed landline connection by the ISP. But this is a fairly old technology and there have been several advancements in the field.

With the launch of fibre cables, a new era with superior bandwidth has been introduced. People nowadays prefer Fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) connection as it is less error-prone and offers high-speed internet often at the same or much lower rates, depending on the ISP.

In the end, apart from considering all the above aspects, it's good to do your own research to find out the ISP offering the most suitable plans according to your requirements.