You could shave serious money off your monthly broadband bills by making some very simple checks this week. As you're probably already aware, it's Black Friday on November 24 and that means there are loads of tech bargains coming soon including hefty discounts on internet access. In fact, all of the major players have already launched money-saving deals including some offering free access for three months - that means you won't pay a penny until next year.
There will be loads of enticing deals launching in the coming days but before signing on the dotted line it's worth doing a tiny bit of research first.
Ahead of Black Friday, Tom Paton, an internet expert from Broadband Savvy, has issued some top tips for UK homes and there's some sound advice for anyone wanting to slash their bills including looking at who supplies connections in your street.
Almost all properties have access to Sky and BT but more and more so-called Altnets are now starting to pop up and often dish out faster speeds at much lower prices. For example, Community Fibre which supplies parts of London currently has ludicrous 1Gbps downloads for less than BT charges for very average 70Mbps speeds.
"Nearly all British broadband providers offer different levels of discounts during Black Friday sales," explained Paton. "If you aren't aware of all the different providers that service your address, you might miss out on finding the cheapest or fastest deal you can get."
There are three main categories of broadband providers available in the UK:
Openreach: BT's broadband network, which is available almost everywhere in the UK. Providers include BT, Sky, Plusnet, TalkTalk, NOW Broadband, and more.
Virgin Media: Virgin's broadband network, available in 56% of the UK.
Altnets: small, independent broadband providers that service specific cities, towns, or counties. Providers include Community Fibre, Hyperoptic, CityFibre, and more.
Have a shop around and see if anyone new has recently laid cables in your road.
The next top tip is all about speed. Of course, we all want faster and faster speeds but do you really need it? The simple fact is, the quicker the downloads the more you'll pay so make sure you get the right performance for your needs.
"For most households, there's no point paying £50-£60 per month for a 500-1,000 Mbps broadband connection," Paton said. "A 100-200 Mbps tariff will offer plenty of speed, even if you have a large family. And for singles and couples, 50-100 Mbps should suffice."
Unless you live in a house full of people streaming, downloading games and working you might find it's a good idea to drop the downloads and get a cheaper price.
Next, it's a good idea not to rush and also check out if the deals include in-contract price hikes.
Most suppliers are offering deals throughout this week and into the weekend so take your time and check the small print.
"It's very common for broadband providers to automatically increase your monthly cost each year, in line with inflation," Paton explained. "The problem is, they don't just increase the fee you pay by the inflation rate - they add on an extra increase of 3-4% as well. This means that if inflation is high, you might find that your monthly cost increases 10 or even 15 percent a year from now, wiping out your Black Friday savings."
Finally, before signing on the dotted line it's worth seeing just how good your new provider really is. Recent stats from Ofcom have revealed that not everyone is doing well when it comes to customer satisfaction. Mirror Online has all the latest figures with Vodafone currently bottom of the pile and Sky coming out on top. See the latest Ofcom stats here .