What's the best ISP for me?

To decide which the best ISP is for you, you need to match the ISP and their package to your particular needs.

Knowing what it is you want is the safest way to make sure you end up with an ISP that does everything you need it to at the best possible price.

For example, you wouldn't want to get a pay-as-you-go package if you are on the net all day!

What do you need?

Think about what you want to use the internet for. Do you spend a lot of time online, or just a little? At what times of the day do you access the internet?

What sort of things do you do online - do you only check your e-mail, play online games, or what?

Also, think about your own skills level with the internet and computers - will you need technical support if something goes wrong, or could you fix it yourself?

Everyone's needs are different, so everyone's 'best ISP package' will be different.

However, here's some advice for a few common groups of users.

New users

If you have only just started using the internet, then you'll probably want lots of technical support. Make sure your ISP offers you phone support as well as support online.

It's also a good idea to find out how much that support costs. This can vary from costing nothing to costing up to a pound a minute!

You'll probably want to consider a pay-as-you-go package first. With these, there's no fixed monthly cost - you just pay the cost of the call minute-by-minute.

Beware, these are often marketed as 'free' ISPs. Remember you'll still be paying the cost of the call.

It's important to find out how much this is and whether it changes at different times of the day. Most pay-as-you-go packages will normally be 0845 numbers and charge the cost of a local call.

E-mail users who don't surf

If you really only check your e-mail online and don't do much else, then a pay-as-you-go package is probably still the cheapest package for you as you won't spend long online.

If you use an e-mail program rather than webmail you'll already be saving money by writing your mails on your computer before you connect.

Check your bills

A word of warning - often, we don't realise how long we are online. 0845 calls sound cheap. They vary according to your telephone company but they are around 4p a minute in the daytime, 1.5p in the evenings and 1p on the weekends.

Sound cheap? In fact, the hourly costs are nearly two pounds 40 pence an hour for day time calls going down to 60 pence an hour on the weekends.

So, one hour online every morning would cost nearly 53 pounds a month. Given the fastest broadband service is about 30 pounds a month for high speed 24 hour access, pay-as-you-go can be a bad option, depending on how you use the internet.

The best thing to do is check your bills to make sure that you aren't spending too much. If you are, then a 'regular surfer' option might suit you better.

Regular surfers

If you are a regular surfer then you will want to look at an 'unmetered' access package. With unmetered access you pay a fixed amount, normally around 15 pounds, and you are not charged for the cost of the call.

You need to think about a couple of things. To stop users leaving a computer permanently connected to the net some ISPs limit the total number of hours you can connect in a month.

Others may automatically disconnect users who stay online longer than, say, two hours. You can reconnect straight away if this happens, it's just a precaution to stop people walking away from the computer and leaving the modem connected.

Comparing unmetered and pay-as-you-go

If you are online for more than an hour a day, whether this is the best option for you mostly depends on what time you connect.

Of course, most of us use the internet at lots of different times and your call costs may vary. So, it's always a good idea to check your bills and comparison shop between packages and companies.

After work user

Off-peak unmetered deals are designed for this type of home user.

You pay a flat fee per month and get unlimited access, but only at certain times of the day - usually in the evenings and on weekends.

Even if you want to, you often can't connect at other times, and if you do, you'll be charged a much higher rate.

Heavy user

If you are online for more than an hour or so a day, or use the internet a lot at the weekend, then you are probably impatient for a faster connection. Also, dialling-in for long periods means no one else can use the phone.

Broadband offers an 'always on' connection up to a hundred times the speed of a normal modem. It does not use your phone line either so you can make and receive calls.

As it gives you unmetered, 24 hour a day access, the most important thing here is to choose on price and reliability. Packages range from about 18-30 pounds a month.

Look around

Price is only one part of the decision. Reliability and high quality cheap support are also essential. These may change so the best thing to do is to check one of the many magazines that review ISP performance.

You can also check online to find reviews of ISPs at sites like ISP Review.

You can also often try before you buy. Look out for free trials. Most ISPs will send you a CD if you phone them and you can often find ISP CDs in computer magazines.

And relax - if you find that the ISP or package you choose isn't right for you, remember - you can always change it to a new one!