Some of the questions you should ask yourself are;

• What type of internet is available in my area?

• Would i like to have my land line open when on the internet?

• What type of internet would suit me best, ie Wireless or cable ect?

• Can i bundle my land line account with my internet account to get a cheaper monthly fee?

• What download/upload speed is offered?

• Do i have to be locked into a contract?

• What are the set up fees?

• Does the plan come with VOIP?

• How much can i download/upload before i am CAPPED or SHAPED?

• Can i upgrade or downgrade my speed and or download/upload limit and if so is there any additional cost?

• Does the ISP offer any hardware with the plan or do i have to purchase it separately?

Bundling my Land Line and Internet together

Some ISP's offer telephone plans as well as internet. Most of these ISP's will be able to BUNDLE your land line with your internet. This means that you will be able to get a discounted rate for your internet and land line monthly fee.

Download/upload Speed and monthly usage

Internet plans vary from each ISP but they are generally view by Download/Upload Speed and the monthly usage you are allocated before you are CAPPED or SHAPED

• Download/Upload Speed

  When looking at internet plans you will need to decide what type of speed you would like. Everyone wants the fastest internet possible but it is not always necessary or financially viable. The speed you view the internet at is determined by your DOWNLOAD speed. Your UPLOAD speed determines the speed of uploading things such as video or images to web sites like myspace or you tube.

  It is important to decide what speed you need first as most ISP's charge a fee to change your download/upload speed. For sending emails and viewing basic web pages a 256kb per second connection would be fine. If you wish to stream video or music a 512 kb or better connection would be much more effective

• Monthly Usage

  Be careful when looking at the monthly usage of internet plans. Most ISP's will say you have UNLIMITED Download and Uploads and this is true but once you download a certain amount you may be CAPPED or SHAPED. This means your internet connection is still active but slowed down considerable.

  The downloads/uploads are measured in megabytes and gigabytes. There are 1000 megabytes to a gigabyte. You download data when doing most things on the internet. When you open your email program and check your message you are actually downloading these emails from a server onto your computer. If you are just using email and viewing web pages you don't really need a very big monthly allowance, i.e 500mb. You only start to use more when you are streaming video or downloading big files.

  Usually it dose not cost anything to change your monthly allowance as long as you keep the same download/upload speed.

What is VOIP

VOIP is "Voice over Internet Protocol". It converts your voice into a digital signal, sends it over the internet, and then turns it into whatever signal is required, i.e telephone. You can purchase a hand or headset and make calls to people over the internet.

Using VOIP allows you to connect to the following at a fraction of the cost;

• Other people with VOIP

• Land lines

• Mobiles

• International Calls