One of the key choices you will have to make when you choose a broadband provider is whether you are happy to have a download limit or usage allowance.

The choice is:

• Either, to agree to a download limit, because you can get a cheaper monthly cost; or
• to insist on unlimited downloads (i.e. no limit).

The market is still pretty inconsistent. Although there is certainly a move towards download limits, many providers still offer unlimited downloads without any real increase in price. Other providers distinguish between their own broadband services by offering different levels of download limit.

The Genie's advice is pretty simple: only worry about download limits if you are likely to download large numbers of big files (e.g. music and video). If you just check your email and browse the web - like 99% of us - then you are pretty unlikely to use up your limit.

How much do I currently download?

For those technically minded, there is a way in Windows XP to check how much you currently download..

• Press Ctrl-Alt-Del to open the Task Manager, and choose the Networking tab.
• Go to the View menu and select Columns.
• Tick the box next to Bytes Received, and click OK.
• You should see the new column in the table - you may need to make the window slightly wider.
• Go to Options, and select Cumulative Data.

Just follow these instructions when you turn your computer on at the start of the day, then check it again before you switch off (switching off resets the counter). The "bytes received" column will tell you how much data you have downloaded in that period.

One thing to bear in mind is that Task Manager gives the amount in bytes. To work out how many gigabytes (GB) it is, you'll need to divide by 1,073,741,824 (or divide by 1,048,576 to get the total in megabytes (MB)!