Broadband Providers

Broadband Service Providers

Broadband providers are the name given to Internet service providers that offers access to the internet using a variety of different connection methods over broadband networks that cover the country. The three main types of broadband connection used by broadband providers are DSL broadband, Cable broadband and Mobile broadband. There are many different benefits offered by the different connection types offered by broadband providers.

Who are the UK's key broadband providers?

At the moment the two key broadband providers who offer either DSL or Cable fixed line broadband are Virgin and BT. Both of these broadband providers own their own networks which is the reason they are the main broadband providers in the country. The broadband network owned by Virgin uses fibre optic cabling to provide speeds of up to 50Mbps to its customers and is known as Cable. BT uses the copper wire telephony network to provide its customers with speeds of up to 24Mbps and is known as DSL.

Access provided to customers by other broadband providers is done by Virgin and BT leasing lines on their network for these broadband providers to use. BT and Virgin currently lease line on their network to broadband providers like Sky, Be Broadband, Plusnet, and many other well known broadband providers.

Mobile broadband providers are the last type of provider and they use the mobile phone network to allow their customer access to the internet at broadband speeds. Unlike fixed-line broadband most mobile broadband providers use their own mobile phone network to provide their customers with broadband access. Current Vodafone, Virgin, O2, 3 and Orange are the broadband providers that offer mobile broadband access to users throughout the country.

Making a comparison of the different broadband providers

It can often become difficult finding the best broadband providers that will do everything you want to do, especially with the huge number of broadband providers at the moment. All broadband providers have specialist areas and charge differing prices for their service range. Many of the reseller and broadband comparison site help to find the broadband providers closest to your individual requirements and at the same time make the process as simple as possible. When looking for good broadband providers using a broadband comparison site it lets you filter the different broadband providers according to your needs and only displays the relevant ones.

If you are looking for a specific deal from broadband providers the other way of finding good offers is by searching through reseller or broadband providers' websites. Using this method will mean that you will need a clearer idea of what you want and can often take a little longer to find the best deals from broadband providers. When searching through broadband providers and resellers website you will not see all the deals in one place in the same way as broadband comparison sites, which is usually why searching will take up more of you time. Searching using this method can reap more rewards in that you may find better deals or unique offer that broadband comparison sites do not show due to the limit of the offers they display.

Things to consider when choosing deals from broadband providers

When choosing the best broadband providers one of the most important issues is geographical location, either where you live, work or intend to use your broadband connection. The reason for this being important when choosing broadband providers is because there will be certain areas that don't provide access to DSL or Cable broadband providers and access to the mobile broadband network is dependant on mobile phone network coverage in your area from the mobile broadband providers you choose.

The speed of download, download limits and the cost of the service are three other areas that should be looked at when choosing suitable broadband providers. Deciding how you will use your broadband connection will help you choose which areas are the most important and make picking the best broadband providers much easier.

Different broadband providers offer different speeds although these fall into two areas, with Cable providers offering speeds up to 50Mbps and DSL providers offering speeds up to 24Mbps. Deciding whether you will be light user or a heavy will often define which of the two types of broadband providers you will use, with light users opting for slower speed deals from broadband providers and heavy user looking for broadband providers offering fast access speeds. Similarly the download limits that range from 1GB per month to unlimited will see light users choosing the small data download limits whilst it is probable that heavy users will pick deals from broadband providers offering the larger download limits. The choices you made in the first two areas will usually set the price range you will be looking for and all that remains is to compare the broadband providers that offer the best price.