Choosing your Internet connection

What factors should be considered when choosing an offer? 

• Your available budget; 
• The desired connection speed; 
• The desired data volume (limited or unlimited volume); 
• The cost of the download volume that is not included in the offer (price beyond the allowance for offers with a limited volume);  
• The desired technology (Xdsl, cable, fibre*, satellite, mobile);  
• Standalone offer or offer included in a bundle;  
• The providers that are available for the connection location (fixed Internet); 
• The quality of the customer service of the chosen provider. 

* Fibre is a more recent technology, which is fully being rolled out in Belgium. Read more about this technology and find an answer to your questions at fibreinfo, the BIPT site where all the information is gathered.

How much am I willing to pay? 

The price of the connection depends, among other things, on the volume you can download and the connection speed. If you choose an offer with a limited download volume, to avoid any unpleasant surprises, remember to check the price beyond the package, i.e. the price of the content you download beyond the download volume included in your Internet offer.  

You can compare the offers that are available for sale in your municipality on the tariff comparison website. That site gathers all the existing tariff plans in a correct and neutral manner. Everything is monitored by the BIPT. 

What speed and volume do I need? 

How you wish to use your Internet connection can influence your decision in terms of desired volume and speed: 

• If you mainly wish to browse and send e-mails, a basic offer is enough; 
• If you wish to download films and music, you must ensure that the volume you can download is high enough or unlimited; 
• If you want to play online with other people, depending on the game, a higher speed may be necessary. Please note that if several users are simultaneously connected at your location, this can have an impact on the average speed; 
• If you want to watch TV via the Internet, it is possible that your provider will not let you choose the type of connection. If you want to upload a lot of content on the Internet, pay attention to the upload speed. 

Here is a summary table showing the theoretical time that is necessary to download certain types of applications depending on the connection speed:  

Please note that: The speed displayed on the providers’ websites is a maximum theoretical speed which will only be reached under the best circumstances. As a matter of fact, the real connection speed depends on factors such as the distance between your home and the telephone exchange, the number of people using the network during the download or the capacity of the remote server (it can be slower if the traffic is high). 
 
Before signing the contract, ask your provider what the maximum speed on your line at your address will be.