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	Hardware	Monthly price	Contract	Download speed Download speeds are supplied to us by the broadband providers, and Ofcom's guidelines state any maximum speed quoted must be available to at least 10% of subscribers. Actual speeds will vary depending on your location, so you should do a postcode check on the broadband provider's website to find out your likely speed	Upload speed Upload speeds are supplied to us by the broadband providers, and Ofcom's guidelines state any maximum speed quoted must be available to at least 10% of subscribers. Actual speeds will vary depending on your location, so you should do a postcode check on the broadband provider's website to find out your likely speed	Downloads 'UNLIMITED downloads' means there are no monthly usage caps, service restrictions or additional charges for data use. There may be some form of traffic management policy in place - check the broadband provider's webisite for details
1	61% approval 317 reviews	£7.25/mth(normal monthly cost £14.50)	12 months	14Mbmax speed	1Mbmax speed	UNLIMITED(restrictions apply)	Go 0800 049 7866
	TalkTalk Plus	Offer (Ends TODAY): FREE £25 Tesco voucher plus 12 months HALF PRICE broadband plus FREE connection OR £50 off installation if you need a new line Gaming info: Contention ratio 50:1, Static IP not included Phone: Unlimited anytime calls to UK landlines (+ £14.50/mth line rental, or £9.50/mth if you pay 1 year in advance) Extras: HomeSafe online security package (parental controls, anti-virus and time specific website filtering) plus free wireless router, free technical & customer support.
2	69% approval 281 reviews	£5/mth(normal monthly price £10/mth)	12 months	14Mbmax speed	1Mbmax speed	UNLIMITED	Go
	Broadband Unlimited with Talk Freetime	Offer: FREE £25 M&S voucher ONLINE ORDERS ONLY FREE 12 months HALF PRICE broadband ONLINE EXCLUSIVE Gaming info: Contention ratio 50:1, Static IP not included Phone: Inclusive evening and weekend UK landline calls including 0870 numbers and 20 international destinations (+ £12.25/mth line rental) Extras: Unlimited Wi-Fi access from The Cloud, free wireless router, 12-month trial of McAfee Security software plus 24/7 technical support
3	69% approval 286 reviews	£26/mth£20 for 3 months	18 months	76Mbmax speed	19Mbmax speed	UNLIMITED	Go
	Unlimited Broadband and Evening/Weekend Calls with BT Infinity broadband	Offer (Ends 05 Jul): £25 Sainsburys voucher Gaming info: Contention ratio 50:1, Static IP not included Phone: Inclusive evening (7pm - 7am) & weekend UK landline calls including 0870 numbers (+ £14.60/mth line rental, or £10.75/mth if you pay 1 year in advance). No connection fee if you need a new line. Extras: BT Home Hub, advanced security package plus unlimited WiFi
4	75% approval 808 reviews	£27.50/mth£22.50 for 3 months	12 months	60Mbmax speed	3Mbmax speed	UNLIMITED(restrictions apply)	Go
	Virgin up to 60MB Broadband (without a Virgin phone line)	Offer (Ends TODAY): £20 credit on your bill Gaming info: Contention ratio 50:1, Static IP not included Extras: Free Virgin Media Super Hub (wireless 'N' technology, DOCSIS3, up to 4 wired and 4 wireless connections) Setup fee of £29.95 applies
5	12 monthsHALF PRICE 89% approval 129 reviews	£10.50/mth(existing O2 customers only)	12 months	18Mbmax speed	2.5Mbmax speed	UNLIMITED(restrictions apply)	Go 0800 198 1356
	The Works	Offer (Ends 30 Jun): 12 months HALF PRICE broadband (normal monthly price £21/mth) Gaming info: Contention ratio 50:1, Static IP included Extras: Enhanced wireless N router, up to 2.5Mb upload speed, free 24/7 support, 500 web texts/mth, static IP address, McAfee security software (5 licences) Non-O2 customers pay £13/mth for 6 months then £26/mth, plus £25.53 set up fee
6	80% approval 49 reviews	£22/mth	12 months	16Mbmax speed	1.1Mbmax speed	UNLIMITED(restrictions apply)	Go
	BE Unlimited	Gaming info: Contention ratio 1:1, Static IP included (1 Inclusive static IP or 4 for £4.60/mth) Extras: Wireless router plus static IP address
7	80% approval 49 reviews	£30/mth	3 months	16Mbmax speed	1.9Mbmax speed	UNLIMITED(restrictions apply)	Go
	BE Pro	Gaming info: Contention ratio 1:1, Static IP included (1 Inclusive static IP or 4 for £4.60/mth) Extras: Wireless router plus static IP address and 2.5Mb upload speeds Setup fee of £25 applies
8	75% approval 808 reviews	£34.75/mth£29.75 for 3 months	12 months	100Mbmax speed	5Mbmax speed	UNLIMITED(restrictions apply)	Go
	Virgin up to 100Mb Broadband (without a Virgin phone line)	Offer (Ends TODAY): £20 credit on your bill Gaming info: Contention ratio 50:1, Static IP not included Extras: Free Virgin Media Super Hub (wireless 'N' technology, DOCSIS3, up to 4 wired and 4 wireless connections) Setup fee of £29.95 applies
9	77% approval 190 reviews	£16.49/mth	12 months	16Mbmax speed	448Kbmax speed	60 GBper month	Go
	Pro Broadband	Gaming info: Contention ratio 50:1, Static IP included Extras: Free wireless 4-port router, prioritised traffic, low latency and pings, free usage between midnight-8am. 240 minutes of VoIP calls included. Setup fee of £25 applies
10	80% approval 49 reviews	£27/mth	12 months	16Mbmax speed	1.9Mbmax speed	UNLIMITED(restrictions apply)	Go
	BE Pro	Gaming info: Contention ratio 1:1, Static IP included (1 Inclusive static IP or 4 for £4.60/mth) Extras: Wireless router plus static IP address and 2.5Mb upload speeds

Gaming broadband: give yourself the edge

Whether you prefer wielding a flamethrower in Modern Warfare 3, questing the night away on World of Warcraft, designing your new pad in The Sims Online or beating your lap times on Forza Motorsport 4, you need to be sure you have a gaming broadband connection that can cope.

When you're looking for gaming home broadband, there are several things you need to think about: are you a hardcore player who needs a gamer specific package? If not, do the games you play need a consistent fast connection, a good ping rate, or lots of GB per month (bandwidth) to download files? Don't worry - all will be explained. There is also a description of some of the gaming terminology you'll come across at the bottom of this guide (ping, latency, etc).

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So what is the best broadband for gaming?

Right now, both BE Broadband and PlusNet are UK providers that offer specific gamers broadband to buy: cheap deals deliberately targeted at broadband gamers. If you haven't heard of these companies, don't worry. While they may not be household names, BE is part of the Telefonica group that is also home to O2 Broadband in the UK, while PlusNet is owned by BT Broadband. Both are run as separate companies though, with their own deals, customer service, etc.

BE's 'Unlimited' deal offers unlimited downloads, ADSL2+ download and upload speeds, low pings, no traffic shaping, optional static IP and a control panel so advanced gamers can change the settings of their internet connection.

The PlusNet 'Pro' add-on package claims to offer: all traffic priorities at all times, low latency and pings (see below), reliable and stable connection, access to gaming servers, a static IP address, the option to turn interleaving on and off and a 20GB monthly download allowance, plus free usage from midnight to 8am outside of your usage allowance.

It should also be noted that both PlusNet and BE offer short-term contracts (one month for PlusNet and three months for BE), which means you can try them out for size. Also, they're ideal for short-term accommodation situations, such as student shared houses. Not that we're suggesting students spend all day playing games, of course!

However, choosing the best gaming broadband isn't always going to be your choice. Unfortunately, not all telephone exchanges will have the same equipment inside, especially in more rural areas. What this means is that while you may see adverts advertising optimistic 'up to' speeds your actual connection will most likely be slower. If you're a long way from your nearest telephone exchange, that 8Mb line may only realise 2Mb, or even less.

Be sure to check the kind of line speed you will get before you purchase a deal – all home broadband ISPs should offer this service as standard now. Some, including BE, will only offer you a contract if they can guarantee a good speed, so don't get your heart set on a specific ISP before you know if they will service your area (our postcode checker above should let you know).

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Do I need gaming broadband?

The simple answer is probably no. However, if you're serious about broadband gaming, you will certainly want to make sure you give yourself the best chance out there, while also getting the cheapest package. You can also read and contrast customer reviews to compare experiences and see if the prices are worth it. Just click on 'reviews' under the ISP's name in the table above to check out what other people think, but remember these tend to be a little on the negative side overall – a lot of people just want a moan when something goes wrong!

• Broadband gaming speed: Simple connection speed can be really important, as it can give you the edge in FPS games such as Perfect Dark or Bioshock, so it is seriously worth considering a connection above 8Mb if you can afford it. If you have a slower connection, just try not to run other programs while you're playing games, as this can really slow things down. And don't forget other machines in the house that may be connected to the internet too.
  While Virgin Media doesn't specifically offer gaming broadband, it has the fastest broadband out there right now - if you're in a Virgin Media covered area, and can afford a 50Mb connection (or even a whopping 100Mb option in some areas), it's always going to be a great choice. Also, the 50Mb option also offers some fantastic upload speeds, as well as downloads, which can be crucial when gaming too.
• Download allowance: Your monthly allowance should be less of an issue: playing World of Warcraft, for example, has been cited as using around 0.4KB/s, so even if you played 24/7 you would never reach the standard GB limits that are now common (10-40GB) - in reality, game playing might use up about 20-50MB of your allowance each day.
  However, be careful about patches as these can be massive and eat up your allowance very quickly. Also, if you're going to download a lot of games with the likes of Steam, rather than buy shop copies, this will also take up big chunks of your monthly download allowance. It's here that providers offering unlimited downloads come in useful.
• Traffic shaping: It is worth watching the Broadband Genie news page for stories about ISPs that use 'traffic shaping' - this is where you can have your broadband slowed down artificially by your provider, sometimes because it is during peak hours or sometimes because they think you are using up too much bandwidth. Gamers should probably try to avoid traffic shaping ISPs where possible.

Happy gaming!

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