BT Total Broadband price cut

BT has reduced prices on its home broadband packages. And you can choose to take an 18 month or 12 month contract.

BT Total Broadband - 18 month contract
Option 1: £8.95 per month for first six months, then £17.99 per month
Option 2: £13.99 per month for first six months, then £22.99 per month
Option 3: £18.99 per month for first six months, then £26.99 per month

BT Total Broadband - 12 month contract
Option 1: £12.99 per month for first six months, then £17.99 per month
Option 2: £17.99 per month for first six months, then £22.99 per month
Option 3: £22.99 per month for first six months, then £26.99 per month

Or find more broadband packages available in your area with my broadband comparison website.

By Sarah, at UK Broadband Finder

Speed up your internet

if you are stuck on dial-up with no prospect of getting broadband via your phone line or cable in the near future, you can still speed up your broadband.

ONSPEED is an internet accelerator that speeds up your dial-up. You could end up with a dial up service ten times faster than what you have currently.

Your connection speed will stay the same but ONSPEED will reduce the size of a webpage you view, which means it can download to your machine that much faster.

OnSpeed also works for broadband internet connections up to 2 Mb, and mobile internet. Great news if you are in contract with a broadband provider at 512k, 1 Mb or 2 Mb, and your current broadband provider won't upgrade you (or there are other factors affecting your internet speed).

It is £24.99 a year and you are not tied into any contract - this is in addition to any dial up, broadband or mobile broadband charges you are paying.

If you are on a slow broadband package, or you suspect you may have an underperfoming broadband connection, you can test your current broadband speed for free on my broadband availability website UK Broadband Finder.

Then check out internet accelerator ONSPEED and speed up your dial up, up to 2 Mb broadband package or mobile internet connection.

Or visit my lastest post on my "official" UK broadband Finder website blog, which has tips on maximising your broadband speed.

By Sarah, at UK Broadband Finder

Superfast broadband

If 8 Meg isn't fast enough for you, there are now broadband providers offering up to 24 Meg for home broadband connections.

Okay, in other countries they may be enjoying speeds like this as a matter of course, but as it isn't that long since a 512k download speed was the height of online sophistication in the UK we can still allow ourselves to get a little excited by genuinely superfast broadband.

Of course, the usual proviso applies - speeds are "up to" and not guaranteed.

The fastest speeds are available from broadband providers who use their own networks, whether phone line or cable.

The best known superfast broadband provider is probably Be. They have been expanding their network coverage significantly from London-only to include many areas of the UK. You can click here to find out if your local exchange has been enabled for Be broadband. Be broadband prices are very low for the speed - only £14 a month for their Be Lite package.

Cable provider Virgin Media is offering up to 10 Mb on its cable broadband package XL for £35 a month - and you get a one-off discount of £10 if you order online.

UK Online uses its own network for its up to 22 Meg broadband service. There's an offer at the moment too - order before 30/04/07 and get the service for only £24.99 per month for the first year (usual price is £29.99 per month). And they are currently waiving the £25 connection fee for this package.

If you are currently within contract with another broadband provider but you'll be looking for a really fast broadband package in the future, bookmark my superfast broadband page on my broadband availablity website.

By Sarah, at UK Broadband Finder

Virgin Media may buy Pipex

The Telegraph has reported that Virgin Media is emerging as an unexpected frontrunner to buy Pipex.

Pipex, which offers home and business broadband and broadband/phone bundles, is up for sale at £335 million. The Telegraph also said that BT Group is thought to be interested.

Pipex is an LLU, or local loop unbundler - meaning it has got its own equipment in exchanges. This means that it can provide faster broadband and eventually TV and other services.

From Virgin Media's point of view, ownership of Pipex would immediately provide a way of getting Virgin Media TV, broadband and phone combinations into many more homes. Cable broadband is unavailable in many areas of the UK (particularly rural and semi rural areas) which has cut off a large potential market. (Although you can get broadband via ADSL from Virgin - thanks to what was Virgin Net - the attractive Virgin Media bundles, including their much-heralded 4 for £40 bundle, are currently delivered via cable).

Watching TV at the moment, it seems as if every other advert is for Sky or Virgin Media as they battle it out to be the bundle provider of choice, with Sky offering broadband, TV and phone for £26 a month (plus line rental to BT), and Virgin Media offering a range of bundles including their famous 3 for £30 broadband, phone and TV package.

If you can't wait for the outcome of the "who buys Pipex?" saga then check out the bundles page on my UK broadband comparison website now.

Of course what this means for The Hoff, who knows...

By Sarah, at UK Broadband Finder

Cable broadband 10 pounds a month

Virgin Media have an exciting new cable broadband offer - up to 2Mb cable broadband for only £10 per month for the first year.

After that it goes up to £18 per month. The offer ends 31 March 2007 so check out what you get for your money now.

They have also got another great offer available to new cable customers. You can save up to £30 when you sign up to Virgin Media cable services online - that's a £10 discount with each new cable service! Offer ends 10/03/07 (new customers taking cable services - Broadband, TV, Phone. Excludes Virgin Mobile). So visit Virgin Media now to see what is available.

Cable is often available in urban areas but if you live in the countryside you probably won't have access to cabe services. So check out the broadband availability checker on my broadband comparison website, www.ukbroadbandfinder.com.

By Sarah, at UK Broadband Finder

Virgin Central TV

Now that Virgin Media has launched we can get a closer look at some of their products - and get beyond broadband!

Check out Virgin Central - the TV station you control. There are SIX different shows ready to start when you want them to. Just pick what you want to weatchm, when.

Top shows includeThe O.C., Nip/Tuck, Grey's Anatomy, Cold Case, Spooks and One Tree Hill. Each episode is available for 15 days so you can always conme back later to finish watching! Virgin Media will be constantly be updating Virgin Central with more episodes, so you'll never have to wait long for the next episode of your favourite series.

And to celebrate the launch of Virgin Central, they are adding loads of extra shows for the first three months.

Virgin Central is included if you have Virgin TV on digital cable - simply go to channel 119.

If you don't have digital TV, click here to visit Virgin Media and find out if you can get it in your area.

By Sarah, at UK Broadband Finder