Top 10 Family Broadband Deals

Family broadband explained

Families have quite specific needs when it comes to broadband. For instance, with a household full of people, you're much more likely to get through your monthly usage than a person who lives alone. What's more, if more than one of you is going online simultaneously, it's vital that you've got a strong wireless connection throughout the house. We have summarised some of the key factors that you should consider before signing up with a provider.

Wireless broadband

With home PCs, laptops and, increasingly, gaming consoles being used by all members of the family, often at the same time, broadband for families has a lot of functions to fulfil. If you are running more than one device on your broadband connection - wireless is the option for you. Many ISPs include free wireless routers with the package, which take a lot of the hassle out of using broadband around the house.

Compare all wireless broadband packages suitable for families here wireless broadband

Fast broadband

It is worth noting that the more devices using the broadband connection at once, the slower the overall download speed becomes. Hence, packages that offer higher speeds are the ones to look for if your family is interested in downloading lots of music, playing games over the internet and availing of IPTV.

See our fast broadband page to compare fast broadband packages suitable for families.

Unlimited broadband

As well as higher speeds, you should consider the download allowance of your broadband package - you would do well to consider ISPs who offer unlimited downloads to their customers. When it comes to "unlimited downloads", it is important to note that many ISPs have fair usage policies attached to prevent a minority of heavy users taking up all the bandwidth and slowing the connection for other users at peak times. Be sure and have a look at the terms and conditions of each package so that you fully understand what you are signing up for.

Compare all unlimited broadband deals suitable for families here.

Broadband security

Some ISPs provide extensive parental controls to try and help you make sure your children are safe on the internet and which filter out URLs they consider unsuitable. A small problem here is that selectively changing the level of restrictions according to which member of the family is using the computer is not easy. One way around this is for different family members to have separate logins.

Another way providers help keep your kids safe is by allowing you to limit the time your child is on the internet, and having reports detailing the websites your child has visited e-mailed to you.

Third-party software

There are also other measures that you can take yourself, for example buying software such as Net Nanny. Here instead of the ISPs filtering the URLs your child can access, this software does the job. There a couple of pitfalls with this though, in that you have to update the software regularly. You are also relying on the manufacturer of the software you have bought to decide what is unsuitable for children.

It’s not just children that need to be careful on the internet. Everyone needs to be vigilant online in an era where credit card fraud and identity fraud is rife. To guard against this, you should check advice from your banks about internet security and never give out personal details.

ISPs can provide very comprehensive family protection. But although you can find a plethora of software to help, you should be careful not to rely solely on these. No matter how good they are, measures such as these cannot be 100 per cent safe. If you’re worried about your children then the best way to protect them is to supervise them as much as possible, and try to get the whole family to be as careful they can.

To compare all family broadband bundles see our dedicated page broadband bundles