Guide to Student Broadband - Part 1 of 3

Whether you’re drawn to university for the limitless parties, the chance to live on your own or even just the chance to gain a better education, it’s vital to get the ‘boring’ jobs out of the way so you can enjoy a hassle free environment.

One of those tasks will be to set up a cheap broadband internet connection, perhaps for the first time in your life. While most students may think it’s simply a case of picking the cheapest broadband package on the market there is actually much more to consider than that. That’s why we’ve put together this guide of broadband for students so you can find an affordable package that’s right for you.

What is student broadband?

Student broadband isn’t a specialist version of the internet that gives you access to everything you need to know for your final exams – instead it’s simply regular broadband packages that are marketed towards students.

If a product is specifically given the tag of being ‘student broadband’ then chances are that it is cheap. However, that does not mean that you should limit yourself solely to these offers – there are plenty of regular broadband packages that offer incentives to students. The key is to think about what you need and what you don’t need.

So is cheaper always better?

Not necessarily. By the nature of the broadband market, if you’re paying less you’re probably getting less. This could be reflected through lower speeds or tighter download caps. If you’re going to be on the internet for long periods, can you afford to pay a few extra pounds each month to be able to download more and at a faster rate?

Of course the price of a student broadband product should always be a primary consideration. However, it can also be deceptive.

For example, you could find the cheapest broadband product on the market and it could be a ‘bog standard’ broadband deal – i.e. it offers nothing but the bare basics. By contrast, by paying out only marginally more money (it could literally be just a few pennies) you could find a deal that offers fantastic incentives such as free modems, routers and more.

That’s not to say that you should dismiss the cheapest broadband deals either. You should simply evaluate everything that a product has to offer and think about the deals that are right for you.