Broadband reviews are one of the best ways for consumers to figure out whether or not a particular provider is going to be right for them. They can tell you all about the services a particular supplier might offer as well as going into the pros and cons of using the service and comparing that provider with other similar competitors. In a very busy broadband world, these reviews are vital for many people who want to switch broadband but don't really have any idea of who to choose. However, broadband reviews are most useful when you can already identify what's important to you. There's no point reading a long review of a popular provider if you don't understand what's being discussed, so giving yourself some overall knowledge on broadband before reading up on reviews is a good idea. Here's a few things to consider when taking a look at broadband reviews.

Don't worry about comments on speed - Speed is very important, but no review can really tell you what speeds to expect from a provider. ADSL broadband, which powers every provider in the country except Virgin Media, is offered on the basis of being 'up to' a certain speed. The speed you'll actually get is determined by how far you are away from your local exchange and the quality of your phone line, so the only way you can estimate your speed is through doing a specific speed check on your phone number or post code. Virgin Media's cable service works a little differently and the advertised speeds are generally pretty close to what you'll get, but this can still vary from household to household, so don't take any speed comments you see in a review too seriously.

Bandwidth means 'usage' - In its most simple definition, wherever a review discusses bandwidth, what it's basically talking about is how much you're allowed to use the service. Whereas speed controls how fast you can download, bandwidth controls how much you can download. Some providers implement bandwidth limits which put a limit on the amount you can use every month, though the more premium packages often don't have a set limit. It's important to remember that bandwidth is used up by surfing the internet, making phone calls, watching videos, playing games and more - it's not always just about how much you're physically downloading. Bandwidth limits are more important to pay attention to if you have a large household with multiple computers, as going over the limit can slow your internet to a crawl or even cost you extra money.

Read multiple reviews - Because most broadband reviews online are written by users like yourself, you need to be aware that there's always some bias involved in what you might read. The best way to gain relevant information from online reviews is to read many reviews about the same provider and see which problems keeping coming up over and over again, then deciding if these problems are something that you want to avoid. Remember that people are much more likely to post up a bad experience or negative review than they are praise about a particular provider, so even if a particular ISP has a number of bad reviews, it doesn't necessarily mean they are a terrible choice.