People will often experience poor performance and slow speeds in their broadband connections. At times, you will not receive the speeds that are promised by the broadband providers. Many factors influence the speeds and performance of the broadband service. The speed of the broadband will differ according to the internet activities you perform.

To a large extent the internet usage determines the speed of the broadband. You should know that certain internet application will need faster broadband speeds while others need slower connections.

A 2 Mbps speed is required to send, receive emails, chat and for minor internet applications. Heavy internet users who download more files and play online games will require a 8Mbps or higher broadband package.

Many words are associated with broadband among which is bandwidth. You must have come across the term frequently. Although not many know what bandwidth really means. To know you broadband speeds well you should be acquainted with this term.

Bandwidth simply refers to the standard used to measure the capacity of communications channel. Whether, it is a ADSL or a cable phone line, this bandwidth is used very frequently. Gigabytes are normally used to measure the Bandwidths.

Every broadband provider sets a monthly limit and when you use broadband beyond this limit you will be charged penalty. Broadband usage is capped to ensure that every user gets decent speed and best value for their money.

As you know a monthly limit is set by each broadband provider and this is called the usage limits or download allowances. Usage limits determines the extent to which users can use the internet.

When you subscribe for a broadband package with a specific download limits you have to comply with it. If you go beyond the download limits you will be charged a fine. Within the usage allowances you can download files, music and video files.

You should calculate the download requirements of the user and then should opt for a broadband package that provides that bandwidth. With a broadband package of 8GB bandwidth you can download 2700 MP3s.

You should keep in mind your download allowances and use the internet accordingly. Many of the broadband providers offer download limits ranging from 1GB to 50GB.

Unlimited packages and Fair Usage Policies
For heavy internet users an unlimited broadband package from any provider is best suited. Unlimited broadband packages come with fair usage policies.

Fair usage policy differs with every broadband provider and you can select any that suits your needs the best.
The main intention behind the fair usage policy is to restrict the user from accessing the internet heavily during peak hours of the day. It restricts the users from taking undue advantage of the unlimited downloading options.

When people under the unlimited broadband packages use internet for heavy downloading purposes during peak hours it will affect others using the internet on the same network.

To ensure an equal internet service to every use on the same network the fair usage policy is kept. When the traffic increases the performance is also reduced. A penalty is charged by the ISP for users who goes beyond the download limits. Before confirming a deal users should make sure to read the fair usage policies of the ISP.