How much broadband do I need?

[hadagutsfull]

I currently have phone line rental with BT & broadband with AOL - now part of Talk Talk. I'm thinking of switching to BT for their Infinity broadband and am comparing prices etc. However, being completely non - technical I don't know for sure how much broadband is enough. I've checked my latest AOL bill on-line but it doesn' t show broadband usage - not that I can see anyway!

Any ideas on how to find out would be much appreciated :)

It's not a very exciting topic but - please - anyone out there??? I need to get this sorted ...

I've a completely non-technical answer: Why not phone AOL and ask them? Or, if BT know you're thinking of changing, I'm sure they'll be able to work it out for you. Good luck.

mine is 50Mb,but actual usage is seldom over 2% of that. When I run a line test, it actually does work at 50Mb. I suppose if I wanted to watch online films or something it might be higher.

I just ran email, and it only used 0.02%

I refreshed Mumsnet and it momentarily used 0.5%

this test tool just told me actual download speed is 54.01Mb, slightly higher than my contract says.

It's at least 20 times more than I actually need.

As a single person, I am currently averaging 130GB a month. It varies quite a bit though depending on how much time I have to watch streaming video (NetFlix, iPlayer, AmazonVideo).

The more people in your household who have devices capable of streaming video, the more data you will use. If you have 3 children and they each have a device on which they can watch NetFlix they could all stream something at the same time, if enough data-speed.

I have a Sync Speed of 77.4Mbps. BroadbankSpeedChecker says 30.8Mbps Download. SpeedTest.net says 22.18Mbps Download (though had peeks of 55Mbps). So Sync Speed (the speed at which your router connects to the network) and the speed that online tests record are different. Thus go for as high a SyncSpeed as is offered. It is typically an up-to 38Mbps service (used to be 40Mbps) or an up-to 76Mbps (used to be 80Mbps) service. Think lower numbers are used now so that it is more realistic of what SyncSpeed you could get, as no one got the higher figure.

To shop around for packages you need to know what Market your exchange is on. Use SamKnows to locate your Exchange, then look towards the bottom of the detail to see Ofcom Classification.
Market 3 means there is lots of competition, so you will get good pricing.
Market 1 means that only BT Wholesale provides Broadband, so choice will be limited and prices higher.

Plusnet provides a helpful guide to Exchange Markets - Plusnet: Low Cost Areas and shows how their costs vary between the different exchange markets.
For example Unlimited Fibre, Broadband Only, is £17.49 in Market 3 but is £24.99 in Market 1. (prices are before any special introductory offers)

A lot of providers now are offering Unlimited data on Fibre products, so data usage may not be your deciding factor, it may be more than due to location your maximum sync speed may be limited to 38Mbps, so no point paying for a higher service.

You will get a lower cost for Fibre Broadband by taking out a package that includes Phone Calls. This means that your phone gets billed from the broadband provider. There is a Monthly line rental fee.
Some provides will let you pay line rental a year in advance (useful if you are not intending to move house anytime soon). This may be called Line Saver or something similar. It does not include any calls, so depending how much you use your phone it may or may not result in a saving.

Personally if I was currently looking for Fibre Broadband, I would go with a provider who provided Unlimited data. With BTInternet I think only Infinity2 is unlimited. With PlusNet (part of BT Group), they have two Fibre packages which are both Unlimited data. Contract lengths vary, 18 months is typical.

The biggest problem is that at present you probably self regulate how much data you use. Once you have Fibre, you won't think twice about streaming a video, watching line movies, downloading new software. So I feel that you will use more just down to the fact that you can and it does not take ages to download an update/movie.

Since getting it I no longer watch live TV, I only stream. Why watch live when you can watch on demand and a pause it to make a

Question - do you really need fibre (and remember, in most cases, it's actually fibre only as far as the green Openreach cabinet) ?

I ask, because you might just feel your broadband is very slow as AOL UK service is now part of TalkTalk (and there have been complaints for years about sluggish speeds, poor customer service, and so on, about TT - it was top of the list for complaints with OFCOM for going on 5 years and in nearly all cases where TT has bought other ISPs, such as Pipex, Tiscali, and so on, there have been issues over billing and the service going downhill, so lots jumped ship).

Further, while Nick has used say 100-150 GB a month and has a line speed that is 70+ Mbps ( my estimate, and I've not switched so far, is only 33.5 Mbps, so I'm a little envious! ) my usage on a 10 Mbps connection has been 300 to 400 GB a month at times in the last 12-18 months.

Now admittedly, if you have a family, especially including teenagers, using YouTube, NowTV, watching TV "on demand" on game systems/ laptops/ tablets, then the extra speed would assist, but it may be that you are just finding some things a bit sluggish, and not yet need the speed.

Like Nick, I use PlusNet. Been with them over 10 years, even though the phone line is with Primus (cheap as could be, with my line rental at 5.99 but that includes no calls, no caller display, etc, as my mobile gives me 2000 minutes and so on).

Start off with using *> Speedtest.net

Thanks for the replies!
EmNetta I like that idea - it would probably be the easiest for me to understand it's just the thought of hanging on for ages to get through ...

Nick & NetworkGuy you use a lot! I can see what you mean about using more once you have the capability and that's what concerns me . I don't want to be going over the limit.

I was going to change to plusnet - this all started when I upgraded my phone and the salesman told me about their offer - but they can't guarantee we can keep our home phone number. For reasons I won't to into, we need to keep it, so I went to BT to see what they'd offer.

A friend who works for BT said to get fibre if we can because it's so good. I use the Internet for social media, surfing & shopping. Only have 1 son who uses his iPhone most of the time but can watch films through his x box & do online gaming when he pays the next year's membership!

Samknows says market 3 but I need to stick to BT or AOL to keep the number. I haven't tested the line speed yet - need to find a cable to connect the laptop to the router ...

Thanks again for your help so far