Finding the right Broadband package when living in a student household can be hard because there is so much to consider. Being a student means you need to take account of a number of things, the two main ones being: price (you're on a budget) and download cap/usage.
The first thing that I mentioned is important for a student looking for student broadband is price. Price is always a major factor in every student purchase, after all, we're not made of money! Although this is important, and there are internet providers out there that offer cheap broadband, they are not always the best or most suitable package for you. Reason being is that cheap broadband usually contains a small usage allowance or download cap.
The usage allowance or download cap is important if you live in a student household. Students are more likely to spend more time on the internet than any other demographic. Sure, you may get cheap internet at home, but how often do your parents or your baby brother/sister use the net? Not very often. When living in a student house, you need to be aware that you are all probably going to spend your fair share of time on the internet, whether this be looking at Facebook, or doing work for your dissertation, I'm not here to point the finger!
The higher the usage allowance you go for, the better your experience will be, as this will avoid massive lags as providers will slow your connection right down if you go over the limit, or even worse, charge you a premium! Considering that price is a massive factor in deciding which provider to go with, I would say that going with a cheap broadband product with a small usage allowance/download cap may even turn out more expensive than paying more each month and receiving a high or unlimited usage allowance.
A few other factors to bare in mind when purchasing broadband are your broadband provider and the quality of service they offer, set up costs and any other benefits that may come from purchasing their broadband product. Some broadband providers (not naming names), offer better call out services than others and have better and faster call centres. Some will charge high start up costs, so this is something to also be wary of. Another factor that might swing it for you is the little things they throw in. Some will throw in call packages and TV packages to sweeten the deal, and being a student, you need to take advantage of all of these offers.
So, if you're a student trying to find your first student broadband package, I would suggest searching around. There are a few sites out there that will compare student broadband and this will help you get a good deal. Remember, you are not the only one footing the bill. In a student house it is likely that you will all pay towards the bill, so it won't hurt as much to put your hand in your pocket and go all out for that fast broadband with unlimited usage.
