Top 10 Broadband Deals for Heavy Usage

Heavy-use broadband packages are offered by a number of broadband providers and are aimed at the growing market of people who are downloading large amounts of data every month.

What is heavy-use of broadband?

Each broadband provider has a different way of defining what constitutes a heavy user of broadband or data. Generally, those using their broadband all day and during evening peak-time periods to download large files such as movies, songs and video clips are heavy users.

Unlmited broadband

As communication, work and gaming increasingly move online, download limits are a constraint that no longer needs to be endured. As you’ve been browsing through the site, you’ve probably noticed a number of internet service providers (ISPs) that offer an ‘unlimited’ download allowance. Some providers, such as Virgin Media and Be, make this a feature of all their packages whilst others reserve unlimited downloads for their top-end broadband products.

Heavy-users should consider:

• Family broadband where many people are accessing the internet on multiple devices at the same time
• Gaming broadband - no need to stop play when you hit your download limit any more
• Student broadband in shared accommodation
• Unlimited broadband - download as many films and songs as you want

Heavy-use broadband and fair usage policies

Many of these packages are subject to FUPs or Fair Usage Policies. These policies attempt to make sure that all internet users within any one exchange get fair access to the internet. They do this by restricting the speed of excessive users, following a warning, during peak times. Excessive users are a minority and include those who use Peer-to-Peer Software and download large files (such as movies) on a regular basis. For more information, refer to our guide "What is a Fair Usage Policy?".