At the risk of appearing completely idiotic...I'm looking for the most basic info about getting the internet in the UK. I live in Canada, so am not familiar with providers in the UK. My 18 year old daughter is living in Brighton for about 6-10 mos. She and a friend have rented a small bedsit. At present they don't have a telephone line or cable provider (I'm not certain cable is a term used in the UK? Television connection). In other words, they have nothing, but electricity (and cell phones - not from a UK provider)! Any advice as to how to best get service under these circumstances would be greatly appreciated? Thanks so much for any info that you can provide!

Most services come through a BT line. If there is nothing in place now, this will cost £125 to install plus £10.50 per month (maybe there is a minimum contract length?). You can then choose for the hundreds of internet provides and call discounters listed on this site and elsewhere.

Without going for a BT line, the other options are cable and mobile. The main cable provider is Virgin but there may be other local options.

Mobile broadband is quite flexible and may suit a shorter or non-permanent stay. You can either buy the dongle and pay for each month that you use it or you can sign up to a contract. Three offer the best prices but they also have the poorest coverage. I don't have a BT line as they don't cover my city and I recently opted for Vodafone mobile - the connection is not as good as a landline but it is very flexible and can be used at any address.