Back when the household PC was something of a social status marker and internet connection on top of that was very classy indeed, there were not many suppliers and therefore not much in competition within the internet provider market. However nowadays with our streaming TV, downloadable music and movies and online gaming there are more than a hundred broadband and dial up internet providers in the United Kingdom alone.

BT reports that 99.6% of people in the United Kingdom can receive broadband in their area, but there are a surprisingly large amount of people who are still using dial up internet. There seems to a misconception that it is cheaper to use a dial up modem, but nowadays it is actually more likely to be cheaper if you decide to use a broadband supplier. Unless you only use the internet for less than an hour a week you should probably look into a "light use" broadband that is designed for just browsing the web a few times a week and emailing.

You can find a typically light broadband package for around fifteen pounds a month, and it is an impressive ten times faster than dial up internet. What's more is that you no longer block the phone lines for the whole house hold when you connect to go online and the speed of pages loading and downloads are so much faster that it is possible you will want to use the internet more than you do at the moment.

With the internet currently being the most widely used medium in the world there have been many advancements over the past few years, but they only show their true benefits when used via a broadband internet line. For example there are several broadcasting companies offering free re runs of Television programs but they are only available to stream. This means that a small part of the program is downloaded just before the computer plays it. It then removes the information it has already played to make up space for what is yet to be downloaded. This requires a steady internet connection if you don't want to be paused to wait for five minute blocks to play out.

Other than downloads being much quicker, and the speed of browsing usually instant, there is also the ability to use wireless networks for broadband, so that everybody in the household can access the internet at one time. If you get a decent connection you shouldn't notice them using it at the same time either.

If you are still using dial up internet, it will most likely be worth looking into what offers are currently available from broadband providers. With the demand for internet connection you should be able to find something suitable for your needs.