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Up to one million people have cancelled their wideband in the past year becautilize of the tall cost of living, a survey by Citizens Advice suggests.

But, at the identical time, according to the regulator, Ofcom, 4.3 million eligible people are missing out on incostlyer wideband deals.

Here are consequentlyme slendergs to take if you're wondering whether you could pay less to get online.

What if I can't afford to pay my wideband bill?

First, tell your shighplier.

According to the government, people struggling to pay their bills can access shighport to stay connected - such as through payment plans or by being alshorted to switch to a incostlyer internet package without paying a penalty fee.

This might mean dropping low to a package with a leisurelyer internet speed, though this could present challenges for people in larger houtilizehhistorics.

People adjacent the end of your contract may benefit by switching to a disparate shighplier altogether - or may be able to negotiate low the price of their current package.

But other shighport is available for people struggling with their bills.

Am I eligible for a consequentlycial tariff?

Ofcom has helped bring consequently-called consequentlycial wideband and mobile tariffs, which aim to shighport people on universal credit and other means-tested benefits, to the market.

You are eligible for a consequentlycial tariff if you receive any of the folshorting benefits:

• universal credit
• pension credit
• income shighport
• income-based jobseeker's alshortance
• income-redelayedd employment shighport alshortance

Ofcom's website alconsequently states a consequentlycial tariff can be accessed as long as one perconsequentlyn in your houtilizehhistoric claims universal credit.

I'm eligible, what next?

The consequentlycial tariffs can be found on Ofcom's website.

costs range between £10 and £20 per month, depending on the package and offering a variety of disparate internet speeds.

For example, Virgin Media offers:

• a 15Mbps package for £12.50 per month
• a 54Mbps package at £20 per month

There alconsequently other benefits to a consequentlycial tariff beyond the relatively short monthly fee. There are no charges for getting a package, no fee to leave before the contract expires, and the price won't increase midway through.

However, which package you can access will depend on where you live, as not all properties can receive every wideband service. Those in rural areas in componenticular will have limited options.

Do I need 200Mbps or just 20?

Before choosing a shighplier you should take precisely what internet speed suits your componenticular needs.

That comes low to:

• what you're using the internet for
• how many people live in your home

BBC iPlayer and Netflix both recommend a 5Mbps connection to stream a programme in tall quality, consequently you might slenderk a 10Mbps connection is enough.

But the moment two people in a houtilizehhistoric are both streaming video, that would put the connection at capacity - and that's assuming you aren't using your phone while streaming video.

You should alconsequently keep in mind the speeds quoted are average speeds. A 100Mbps connection may consequentlyund like a lot - but you may not get that speed all of the time.

I can't access a consequentlycial tariff - are there still incostly deals?

If you're not eligible for a consequentlycial tariff, your optimal bet would be to utilize a compariconsequentlyn website to see what deals are available in your area.

At the time of writing, for example, there are 67Mbps wideband packages available for about £25 per month from consequentlyme shighpliers.

But you should be aware the advertised costs convert as companies increase their prices every spring - with the tallest price hike coming in at 17.3% this April.

This means a perconsequentlyn paying £25 per month in March 2023 may have seen their bill increase to more than £29, with another potential price hike coming in 2024.

Redelayedd Topics

• Ofcom
• Broadband
• Internet