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It can be tricky to read between the broadband lines, with lots of jargon and figures being bandied about. To help, we’ve rounded up the key considerations below.

What is full fibre?

It’s all change in the British broadband world, with dozens of networks appearing across the country that offer full-fibre connections – rather than the traditional, far-slower copper cables. Even better, all of this new competition is driving down prices, making it something of a buyer’s market.

If you live in a town or city, it’s highly likely that you’ll have access to a full-fibre connection, but there are lots of exceptions to this general rule in the countryside. The simplest way of finding out is to pick one of our recommended broadband deals above and use the service provider’s tool to see if full-fibre speeds are available in your neck of the woods.

What’s the best speed for you?

There are a huge number of different speed plans to pick from at the moment, but you may end up paying for megabits you simply don’t need. Consequently, we’d say that an average download speed of around 100Mbits/sec is likely to be enough for most households, which you can step up to 300Mbits/sec or even 500Mbits/sec if you’ve got a big family or do lots of bandwidth-hungry tasks such as downloading game updates.

Meanwhile, gigabit speeds (1,000Mbits/sec) should only appeal to a minority of power-user homes and, at the other end of the spectrum, a speed of 36Mbits/sec is designed for those who only browse the web or do an occasional spot of streaming from a couple of devices.

How long should the contract last?

The vast majority of providers offer either 18-month or 24-month contracts, although a select few also let you pick 12-month plans. The latter will provide more flexibility, but keep in mind that many ISPs have recently decided to hike up the prices mid-contract in April, usually by the Consumer Price Index rate of inflation plus an extra 3.9%. However, a notable exception is our favourite provider overall, Zen Internet.

Is there an upfront cost?

Massive setup fees are, mostly, a thing of the past and it’s now unusual to spend more than £30 upfront, with many ISPs waiving them entirely as an extra incentive. Nevertheless, we’ll always mention when there’s a one-off fee so you’re not caught off-guard.