Choosing The Right Broadband Deal

This is a big consideration and the question ultimately reflects upon what you intend to use the internet for; primarily there are two main requirements: business use and home use. Whilst some business users may feel that their usage levels would be well served on a cheaper home broadband internet service plan, they would not have access to advanced business features such as public IP addresses and the open port access required for many business applications.

Within the current COVID-19 crisis, many users have found that their usage pattern has shifted from home use to business use. Should this be the case for you then you may need to upgrade your existing broadband internet package to support this change in requirements, or maybe even consider installing a second internet connection for service resilience. This could be a terrestrial service (fibre/cable, 4G, fixed wireless etc) failing over to/load balanced with a satellite service or should broadband options be limited, then perhaps failover or load balanced between satellite or 4G platforms. Based upon the secondary service need, this could simply involve the addition of a 4G router or the installation of satellite system and the application of a broadband internet service appropriate to your data usage needs.

This is also a huge consideration when choosing the right broadband internet package; if you subscribe to a service plan that is too big for your needs, you could be paying too much for the internet but if you subscribe to a service plan that is too small you will find that you frequently run out of data. Below is a budgetary guide:

• Basic browsing and email use: 10-15 Gigabytes (GB) a month (light usage)

• Browsing, emails and infrequent on-demand TV: 20-30GB (Light to medium usage)

• Browsing, emails, infrequent on-demand TV, movies, and music: 60-80GB (medium to heavy usage)

• All the above with multiple users and devices: 100GB+ (heavy usage)

Please note that the above figures are not guaranteed values as usage can vary greatly from user to user and device to device. Often overlooked is the additional usage generated from automatic updates for device operating systems (Microsoft Windows and Apple OS/iOS being the most widely used) and application updates which tend to add up to multiple GBs which will be multiplied by the number of devices connected to your broadband internet connection.

The good news is that with Bentley Walker Freedomsat broadband internet, there are no additional charges for exceeding your data limit, though speeds will be restricted once you do exceed and either top up data will need to be purchased or an upgrade of subscription requested. Where usage is likely to exceed 30GB and where 4G is viable, we will recommend subscribing to our 4G unlimited broadband internet service (unlimited data mobile broadband internet).

Your initial instinct may be to go for the fastest speed possible and for businesses and large households this would likely make sense. If you fall under the light user category or you are unlikely to be using online streaming services, speed may not be the be all and end all when choosing the right broadband internet package for you.

Superfast broadband internet is currently the standard for most homes and businesses in the UK and Ireland; defined by Ofcom, superfast broadband is a broadband internet service with download speeds of at least 30Mbps. Superfast broadband is achievable with both our satellite broadband and 4G mobile broadband internet solutions, with satellite internet speeds of up to 50Mbps and 4G up to 100Mbps (actual speeds will vary based upon network utilisation at the time of access).

Deciding which speed is right for you boils down to the number of users and devices that will connect to your broadband internet connection plus the activities that those users and devices will be performing. For light users with a low number of devices speed of 10-15Mbps should be sufficient but for heavy users with multiple users and devices, and for those planning to stream online video, speeds upwards of 20Mbps will be required.

Your location will determine which of our broadband internet products you are able to access. Our satellite broadband internet services provide 100% coverage of the UK & Ireland, with the only restriction being line of sight to one of three satellites that cover the region. Our 4G mobile broadband solution is currently only available in the UK and is reliant on mast coverage provided by O2 and Vodafone, with both mobile operators continually expanding their coverage.

Our dedicated UK sales team will check your location to see if you are able to receive a reliable 4G mobile broadband signal to access our 4G unlimited broadband internet services, and for those not able to receive 4G mobile broadband our sales team will advise on the best satellite broadband internet solution.

Typically, our contracts are for 12 months but we can offer 1 month flexi contracts on our 4G mobile broadband services, introduced to support businesses and home users looking for a temporary solution for remote working and home schooling. 4G is a quick and easy way to add a second internet connection to your home or business without a long term commitment.