When the connection itself is complete, you usually have a large number of so-called service providers to choose from. At first glance, they appear to be almost identical in terms of price and speed. But there are important details that you should check before deciding which provider to hire.
The same applies if you are about to switch to a new supplier – either to reduce the cost or because you are simply not satisfied with your current one.
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Here we go through the questions you need to ask, the technical specifications you need to check and how to compare the pricing in the right way.
1. Which suppliers do you have to choose from?
When your property is connected, you will be bombarded with advertising and offers from a large number of suppliers. If you instead want a clear overview of exactly what your options are, you first of all need to know which your communication operator is. Examples of such are Zitius, Open Universe, IP-Only and Svenska Stadsnät. These are responsible for operation and maintenance and then have agreements with a number of service providers. And they usually have a clear overview of which suppliers you can choose from.
2. What services do you need today and in the future?
Some of the various providers only offer internet connection, others also have telephony and digital TV. Even if at first you’re just keen to get started and surf quickly, it’s good to think a little long-term here. It is usually easier to purchase additional services through an existing provider than to switch to another provider when you realize that you want, for example, IP telephony.
3. How tied do you get?
Many operators offer connection without a commitment period, but also watch out for so-called notice periods. It’s no fun if you have a subscription you can’t cancel if you realize you want to change.
Sometimes you can reduce the installation price quite a bit if you commit to a subscription at the same time. Here, it is important to calculate extra carefully to see if it is worth it. Otherwise, we do not think you should choose a subscription with a longer binding or cancellation period than one month.
4. What speed do you need?
When you choose a service for your fiber connection, you can often choose speeds from 10/1 Mbit and up to 1000/100 Mbit. The first number indicates the downstream speed, that is when you are retrieving information. The second is about the speed upstream, i.e. when you send information yourself.
If you intend to stream video, and/or if there are several of you in the household who will use the connection at the same time, then we think that 100 Mbit downstream is recommended. The speed in the other direction is most interesting if you use cloud services, such as backup, or if you have some kind of server at home or play online games. Then there is the question of whether your equipment at home is able to accommodate you at the highest speeds. If you run wirelessly, it is important that your Wi-Fi router is fast enough, and it is not even a matter of course that all wired devices and cables fix 1000 Mbit/second.
The speed difference between the different service providers is usually very small, and difficult to check in practice before you take the plunge.
5. How does the support work?
First of all, you should check what kind of support the provider offers. Can you call in the middle of the night if the service is down? Is a response guaranteed within a certain time if you email a question?
How well or poorly the support works is very difficult to get an answer to, even though there are some surveys you can take a look at online. However, the result of these is fresh produce and not all suppliers have been involved. A site that researched customer satisfaction in the broadband market is SKI – Swedish Quality Index, which includes, for example, Telia, Tele2 and Bredbandsbolaget.
Also check with people in your surroundings and take the time to read up on recent forum threads, for example here on E-forum. Keep in mind, however, that those who unsubscribe from forums are usually those who have experienced problems.
6. Compare the prices the right way
Many providers have starter offers where you get a number of months at half price. But in order to make a fair price comparison, you also need to factor other things into the equation than the monthly fee. Is there an initiation fee/connection fee? Is router or other hardware included? Is vpn service included or perhaps antivirus or other software? Is it possible to get a public IP address free of charge? And what about invoice fees and other administrative costs?
Another thing to keep in mind is that the price may change after you sign up for your subscription. We have several readers who have testified that their monthly cost has been adjusted up. In these cases, it is good if you are not stuck with a commitment period that makes it difficult for you to change suppliers if you wanted to.
7. Public or non-public ip address
Some providers have the option of giving you a public IP address, that is, a direct address that is visible on the Internet, outside of your service provider. It is good for those who want to “host” multiplayer games or who have a server at home that you want to access easily. Some providers can even give you multiple addresses if you need it, but it’s not always free.
If you can’t get a public IP address, you can use a dynamic dns service which can still solve the problem for most users.