Broadband has become an incredibly important commodity for home users and is quickly becoming widely accepted as an essential service of equivalent importance with electricity, water and gas. Modern broadband technologies allow for families to connect to the internet at high speeds, download files, share photos, chat with friends and relatives via voice or video, play games and expand their horizons in millions of other ways. However, because the broadband market is highly competitive and full of superficially similar but often fundamentally different deals and products, making sure that you choose the right provider for your home can be a trying task. If you need a little guidance, read on to discover some basic tips to help you decide.

There are three main broadband connection types; ADSL, Cable and Mobile broadband. Since mobile broadband is unlikely to be suitable for home use unless a single individual has need of occasional internet access, we will focus on ADSL and Cable broadband.

ADSL broadband uses existing copper telephone lines to provide you with a connection of anywhere between 2Mbps and 24Mbps depending on the package you choose and the location of your home. Fast connections of over 20Mbps are available to nearly 70% of the population, whilst up to 8Mbps is available to 99%. There are many different ADSL providers and most will also offer you bundles which include home phone calling tariffs with free inclusive calls in off-peak periods.

Cable Broadband is available in over 50% of households and because it uses fibre optic technology speeds of up to 50Mbps are available regardless of the location of your home. There is only a single cable provider in the UK, Virgin Media and the highest speed connections cost considerably more monthly than more modest speeds.

Both types of fixed line broadband for home customers are usually supplied along with a free wireless router which will allow multiple PCs, laptops and Wi-Fi enabled devices to connect without the need for cabling running through your walls or across your floors. You will need to base your choice of connection on what equipment is provided by the supplier, how much you wish to spend monthly, how fast a connection you require and how long the minimum contractual period is fixed at. These variables should all be easily identifiable if you use broadband price comparison sites to find the cheapest and fasted home broadband packages available in your area.

If you are thinking about using your broadband connection for video conferencing, whether you are a home user looking to chat to distant friends or a business user with a need to speak directly with colleague and associates, you will need to make speed a priority in your choice of broadband. Upload speed as well as download speed is important and so Cable Broadband or possible SDSL, where download and upload speed are identical, might be necessary. There are also companies which provide the advanced technology necessary to set up a professional video conferencing centre in your own property.