Traditionally most broadband providers tied you into a 12-month contract. The reason for this is that they offer you a free installation and then recoup the cost throughout the period of the contract.

Some providers such as TalkTalk, Orange and BT have started doing 18-month contracts. With BT an 18-month contract can mean you pay less per month in return for being tied in for longer than average. The others look like they are just trying to secure your business for longer.

If a contract of any length worries you, there are providers - notably Virgin broadband - which work on a rolling 1-month contract.

The plus side, of course, is that you can cancel the contract if you can't afford it or it doesn't meet your needs.

The minus side is that rolling contracts often come with a fairly hefty cancellation fee. If the cancellation fee is equivalent to three months' payment, then it doesn't look quite so rosy - although bear in mind that it would still probably be more expensive to cancel a 12-month contract.