THE hidden costs of many cheap broadband internet providers could turn your bargain deal into one of the
most expensive.
 
The number of households with broadband access in the UK is close to ten million, and there's a choice of
more than 250 providers.

 

And as competition hots up, prices have tumbled, with a handful of providers now offering broadband-access
at  10 a month or less - while the average bill stands at about  14.99 a month.

 

But if you read the small print of many of these cheap deals, you'll see the potential for your monthly bill
to rocket. The easiest way for this to happen is through calling customer services or technical support lines
whenever you find yourself in difficulties. For example, one of the smaller providers is charging  10
a month for its unlimited broadband package. But it charges a whopping  1 a minute to call its technical
support helpline.

 

A few minutes' speaking to its staff and your monthly bill shoots up. It unhelpfully adds that no call will
last longer than 30 minutes.

 

Sadly, the smaller companies are not the only providers charging sky-high fees simply to call their technical
teams, many of which are based in India.
 

Some of the bigger providers charge up to 50p a minute for technical support to broadband 'starter package'
customers, Many others charge national call rates for phoning their 0870 and 0845 numbers. If you're using a
BT line, these vary from 3p to 5.5p a minute during peak times. Rival phone companies can charge higher.

  

Another way of pushing up a bill is by charging a penalty for going over your monthly usage.

 

The amount you can download each month is measured in gigabytes. One gigabyte (Gb) broadly lets you surf
the internet for two hours a day, send and receive 100 e-mails a week and download five music tracks a week.
Some providers give you unlimited downloads, but you'll normally pay extra for that.

 

Good advice would be to do your homework before you sign up with any of the broadband internet providers,
and always remember to check the smallprint before you sign up.