Jonathan Leggett, Home Communications Expert at broadbandchoices.co.uk, has provided the following advice for the users of Student Employment Services:

Between looming loan repayments and living costs, there’s a lot of pressure on your finances while you’re at University. But you can at least save yourself some cash on your broadband by arming yourself with the information you need and shopping around for a good deal.

So what are your options? What’s the best way to trim your outgoings? Which providers are most student-friendly? And how fast does your broadband need to be so everyone in your shared house gets a reliable, speedy connection? We’ll answer all this and more.

Which providers are best for student broadband?
Unless you’re lucky and land yourself an uncommonly great rental accommodation at a great price, it’s rare that you’ll stay in the same address from year to year. What’s more, most of us go back home for the summer holidays too. So aren’t living in our term-time lodgings outside the academic year.

Luckily, there are a number of broadband services that take students’ peripatetic lifestyles into account. And most plans are flexible enough to ensure you won’t end up paying for broadband when you’re not living in your accommodation.

9-month student broadband deals
Virgin Media and BT both offer specially tailored student broadband deals that run over nine-month contracts, instead of the standard 12-months contract term. That means you won’t have to pay for broadband over the long summer holiday, when you’ve probably packed your bags for home.

BT and Virgin Media’s nine-month student broadband contracts typically run between October and June. So they coincide with the academic year.

Both offer TV add-ons too, for those shared evenings in front of the TV, watching football matches or hunkering down under a duvet for movie nights.

No contract home broadband
Another option is to go with no-contract or rolling-contract broadband, which allows you to pay on a month-to-month basis. You’ll just have to give 30 days’ notice when you want to leave.

The chief benefit for students is you can simply cancel during the summer holidays, with no penalty to pay.

Providers that offer no-contract/rolling contract broadband include Now Broadband and Virgin Media. Both of whom offer standard broadband and pricier, but faster, fibre broadband.

With Now Broadband, you’re able to add and remove Now TV Passes whenever you like too. That means you won’t have to commit to a pricey TV subscription.

Mobile broadband
The advent of 4G means that mobile broadband is now a decent substitute for a fixed line home broadband connection.

Better still, you won’t have to pay the best part of £20 per month for a landline.

When you’re done for the year, you can either take your mobile broadband device with you when you leave for your parents’ place for the summer.

Or, it’s just as easy to cancel over the summer months. And simply resume when you’re back at uni.

If you want a mobile broadband connection you can share with others, choose a MiFi. This is effectively a wireless router that transmits your mobile internet connection around your home.

But before you decide to go with mobile broadband, be aware that download limits are much more restrictive than on fixed-line home broadband. So you’ll need to be mindful of how much data you’re using.

What’s more, you typically pay more for the same amount of data than on a fixed-line home broadband deal too.

How to choose a student broadband deal
It’s safe to assume that most students are pretty heavy internet users. So it’s just as well that most fixed line home broadband deals offer unlimited usage. So that’s one less thing to worry about, no?

Instead, the chief factor that should determine which type of broadband you choose is how many people live in your home. That’ll dictate whether to pick standard or fibre broadband and how fast your connection will need to be.

Houses with two people
If it’s just you and a chum or your partner sharing a place, you can get by with a connection offering a speed of between 3Mbps-10Mbps. You can easily get these sorts of speeds with a cheap standard broadband deal from the likes of TalkTalk and Plusnet.

Houses with three-four people
To ensure no one in the house experiences issues with the internet, you’ll need a broadband connection of between 11Mbps-32Mbps. You can take your pick from pretty much any fixed line broadband provider.

Houses with five or more people
In lodgings where everyone uses lots of internet-enabled gadgets, you’re best off with a broadband deal with a speed of 35Mbps or above. You can get this sort of speed with fibre broadband from a wide selection of providers.

Buying tips for students

• You don’t want to start the new term without any internet access. So make sure you get your broadband sorted well ahead of time. Providers typically launch their nine-month student deals in August. Which gives you plenty of time before the new academic year starts in October.
• You can only have one name and bank account on the broadband bill. If you’re splitting the bill with housemates, get them to set up a regular transfer into your account.
• Before you plump for a nine-month broadband deal, take a good look at 12-month deals from value providers, such as TalkTalk. These can often work out cheaper, even though you’re paying for a longer contract term.

Broadbandchoices.co.uk are currently offering students a £10 Amazon voucher when they purchase a student broadband deal through the site – check it out, here.