Broadband can be a tricky utility to get right, because you can’t always just choose a provider and forget about it. When you’re looking at using your broadband connection for more than just casual usage and want to engage in activities like HD streaming from YouTube or other video players like iPlayer as well as standard downloads like music and film downloading, you need to make sure you don’t pick a provider that will charge you too much for the service.

However, large portions of the UK public are still unaware what download limit and fair usage policies are, and an ever greater number has no idea how much they download every month. This shows that heavy downloader’s need to make sure they choose the right service from the start. Here are some of the basic things you need to know if you want to make the most out of any broadband package when it comes to downloading.

Fair Usage

Fair Usage is the policy that governs most broadband connections in the UK, and it applies to just about every provider that offers an unlimited package. Fair usage policies can get pretty complicated and are usually full of a lot of legal jargon, but a general rule is that nearly every provider will have an amount of downloading that they think is ‘fair’, and anything after this will likely get you a warning or additional charges.

The problem is, the actual amount is rarely mentioned, so it’s up to users to just hope for the best when it comes to downloading. What you can do is take a look at comparison sites to check out exactly which providers are providing truly unlimited downloads. In 2010, both Be / O2 and Sky have been known to rarely, if ever, implement their fair use policy. Virgin also publicly offers a truly unlimited service on their more expensive packages.

When you’re downloading

People assume that they are only really downloading when they are buying a song on iTunes or receiving an email attachment. However, downloading occurs constantly online. Even using the net means you’re downloading pictures and text, though this is considered light usage. Playing games and talking on standard quality voice and video calls could be considered medium, while heavy usage includes HD video streaming and high quality voice and video chat.

Be aware of the difference in download usage and if you’re worried you might be downloading too much, download software like Download Logger to keep an eye on your usage.

The right ISP

There’s no right and wrong ISP for downloading, although obviously you want to steer clear of ones with bandwidth limits. This means that mobile broadband and other alternative methods of getting online, such as satellite broadband, are out. Instead, you want to aim for a provider that can offer the best speed for your area. If you happen to be in a cable area, you should be able to get some pretty fast speeds with from Virgin or from the new fibre optic BT rollout.