Internet Plans - What to Look For (And What to Ignore)
Choosing an internet plan should be simple: you want the fastest connection you can afford. But internet companies have an incentive to make it complicated. They want you to pay for speed you don’t need, or sign contracts you can’t easily leave, or bundle services you don’t want.
Here’s what to look for, and what to ignore.
Speed - how much do you actually need?
Internet companies advertise speeds like they’re selling sports cars: “Gigabit fibre! Blazing fast! 1,000 Mbps!” It sounds impressive. But most people don’t need anywhere near that much.
Here’s what different speeds can actually handle:
| Speed | What you can do |
|---|---|
| 25-50 Mbps | Browsing, email, streaming on one or two devices. Fine for a single person or a couple who don’t game or do video calls all day. |
| 100-200 Mbps | Streaming in 4K, video calls, online gaming, multiple devices at once. Enough for a family of four. |
| 300-500 Mbps | Multiple 4K streams, heavy gaming, large file downloads, many devices. More than enough for almost any home. |
| 1,000 Mbps (1 Gbps) | You only need this if you have a very specific reason - you work with huge files, you run a server from home, or you have a dozen people all doing heavy internet at the same time. |
Upload speed - the number they don’t advertise
Internet companies love to advertise download speed (how fast you can load a webpage or stream a show). They rarely mention upload speed (how fast you can send a video, a file, or join a video call).
Here’s the trap: Many plans - especially cable internet - have upload speeds that are a fraction of the download speed. You might get 300 Mbps down and only 10 Mbps up. That 10 Mbps will choke if you’re on a video call while someone else is backing up photos to the cloud.
What to look for: If you work from home, do video calls, or upload files, look for symmetrical speeds (same up and down). Fibre connections usually offer this. Cable and DSL rarely do.
The minimum: 10 Mbps upload is barely enough for a single video call. 20 Mbps is comfortable. 50 Mbps or more means you don’t have to think about it.
Data caps - the hidden cost
Some internet companies limit how much data you can use in a month. Go over the limit and they either slow your connection or charge you extra.
How to check: Search for “data cap” or “usage allowance” in the plan details. If it’s not mentioned, assume there is one.
What to look for: An “unlimited data” plan. If the plan has a cap, calculate whether you’ll hit it. A typical family streaming in 4K, gaming, and working from home can easily use 500 GB to 1 TB per month. If the cap is 1 TB and you have a family of heavy users, you might hit it.
The trick: Some ISPs advertise “no data caps” but then bury “fair usage policy” in the fine print. This means they can slow your connection if you use “too much” - without defining what “too much” means. Avoid these.
Contract vs no contract
No contract is always better. It means you can leave whenever you want. If the service is bad, or a better deal appears, you’re free.
Contracts exist because the ISP knows you’ll want to leave eventually. A 12 or 24 month contract locks you in. Early termination fees can be $100-$300.
The exception: Sometimes a contract comes with a genuinely better price - like $50/month for 12 months instead of $70/month. If the savings are real and the ISP has good reviews in your area, a short contract (12 months) might be worth it. A 24-month contract almost never is.
The bundle trap
“Save $30 a month when you bundle internet, TV, and phone!” This is almost never a good deal. Here’s why:
- You don’t need a home phone. Nobody calls your home phone except telemarketers.
- You don’t need cable TV. Everything you want to watch is on streaming services.
- The “savings” disappear after the promotional period. Year two, you’re paying more than you would for internet alone.
- Cancelling one service can break the bundle and raise the price of the others.
The rule: Buy internet. Nothing else. If you want TV, get a streaming service. If you want a phone, use your mobile.
Fibre vs cable vs DSL vs satellite vs 5G
The type of connection matters more than the speed number on the advert.
| Type | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Fibre (FTTP) | Everyone who can get it | Not available everywhere. If you can get it, get it. |
| Cable | Most urban and suburban homes | Slow upload speeds, speeds slow down during peak hours |
| DSL | Rural areas with no other option | Slow. Usually under 50 Mbps. |
| Satellite | Genuinely rural areas with no other option | Expensive, high latency (bad for gaming and video calls), weather dependent |
| 5G home internet | Areas with good 5G coverage | Signal can be inconsistent. Not available everywhere. |
Promotional pricing - the real cost
The price on the advert is almost never what you’ll pay after a year.
How it works: “$49.99/month for 12 months!” Sounds great. What they don’t tell you is that in month 13, it jumps to $79.99. And there’s a “technology fee” of $10. And a “router rental fee” of $15. And “taxes and surcharges” that add another $8.
What to do:
- Ask for the total price including all fees and taxes
- Ask what the price will be after the promotional period ends
- Set a calendar reminder to call them before the promotional period ends and negotiate a new deal
The one trick that saves you money every year
Internet companies have retention departments whose job is to keep you from cancelling. They can offer discounts that aren’t advertised anywhere.
Once a year, call your ISP and say this: “I’m considering switching. Can you check if there are any promotions or discounts available on my account?”
They will almost always give you a better price. Not because they’re nice. Because it costs them more to acquire a new customer than to keep an existing one. Use this.
If they say no: Actually cancel. Sign up with a different provider. Or have someone else in the house sign up as a “new customer” for the promotional price. This sounds ridiculous but ISPs have brought it on themselves.
What to do now
- Check what type of connection is available at your address (search “broadband availability [your postcode]”)
- If fibre is available, get the cheapest fibre plan (100-200 Mbps is plenty)
- If fibre is not available, get cable with unlimited data
- Do not bundle TV or phone
- Do not sign a contract longer than 12 months
- Set a calendar reminder in 11 months to call and negotiate
- Buy your own router instead of renting one from the ISP (it pays for itself in a year)
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