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Superfast broadband is different to traditional ADSL broadband (BT, TalkTalk, AOL, etc), because it uses a fibre optic cable rather than a copper phone line. This gives you much higher upload and download speeds when compared with ADSL broadband.

In most instances, the cable runs from the exchange (your local internet hub) to the cabinet (where the internet comes into your street - usually a little green box). The line from the cabinet to your home remains the same, so when switching to fibre broadband, you don’t need lots of work done to your house.

Fibre broadband will give you downloads which are four times faster on average. You'll see these faster speeds when you're up- or downloading large amounts of information – everything will happen a lot quicker.

This means a sleeker browsing experience, the ability to support multiple devices or users on one connection, and that things including sending and receiving emails, online gaming, watching TV online or downloading music or films will run more smoothly.

Fibre broadband is a lot more expensive than standard ADSL broadband though, so think long and hard about whether you really need it.

Fibre optic broadband offers speeds of up to 100Mb in the UK. How fast is that? Well Virgin calculates that with 100Mb broadband, you can download a music album in six seconds, a standard definition film in 90 seconds and a HD film in just six minutes.

Research by regulator Ofcom shows that fibre broadband packages deliver a lot closer to their advertised speed than normal ADSL packages.

For example, customers on an "up to" 14Mb package with TalkTalk get, on average, between 7.4Mb and 9.Mb, whereas customers with Virgin Media on an "up to" 60Mb package get between 58.1Mb and 59.9Mb.

The fibre broadband market is increasing rapidly, and Virgin Media is no longer the only provider offering a superfast cable service.

Virgin Media offers superfast broadband as standard. It offers three packages at speeds of up to 30Mb, 60Mb, and 100Mb. Its network only covers about 50% of UK homes though, so if you live outside its network area, you'll have to find an alternative.

BT also runs its own fibre optic network. Its BT Infinity packages give speeds of up to 38Mb and up to 76Mb. BT-owned Plusnet also offers 38Mb and 76Mb packages.

Sky and TalkTalk also offer fibre optic packages, but they have very limited availability at the moment.

Fibre broadband, or next-generation broadband as it's also known, is still being rolled out across the UK, and not everywhere has it yet.

As a general rule, most big cities and towns have access to superfast broadband from a few different providers. But in other areas (mainly rural), you may not have access to fibre broadband at all.

Use a broadband postcode checker* to see if you can get superfast broadband (though we've some reports of this being inacurate). If your area can't get it, wait a few months and try again.

If you're currently renting a property and want to get superfast broadband, you should check with your landlord first to see if they mind you switching.

Check you're actually allowed to switch from your current provider. Many broadband providers' contracts last a year or 18 months; try to leave before that time and you may be charged a penalty.

Even if they don't penalise, you'll almost certainly have to pay for any equipment they've given you, as this is essentially "rented" from your provider.

Most providers nowadays will transfer you to their service for free, since they want your business. But a dwindling number still charge migration fees for switching you over - especially if you're with an LLU provider (one that uses its own network), such as TalkTalk.

Call your existing broadband provider and ask it for your MAC (Migration Authorisation Code). Don't worry, this is a standard process and you should get it without any hassle.

It does, however, give providers an opportunity to persuade you to stay by offering a much more competitive deal than you currently have. Don't dismiss this; they may even offer you a better deal than the one you're switching to.

Once you have your MAC, give it to your new provider. There should be much less downtime when you transfer, possibly even just a few hours. Without it, the transfer across can take weeks, so make sure you have yours handy.

If you have a laptop or phone with wireless internet, it's worth noting the number of places on the high street offering free wi-fi access is increasing rapidly.

Pub chains Wetherspoons and Walkabout now offer all customers unlimited wi-fi access, as do McDonald's restaurants nationwide. Coffee shop chain Coffee Republic also offers wireless to customers in some stores, but it's limited to 10 minutes - you'll need to pay after this.

For full details, and more ways to get free access, read the Free Wireless Internet guide.

Providers usually set their charges based on the volume of data used. This is measured in megabytes (MB) or gigabytes (GB - equivalent to 1,024MB) and has nothing to do with the time spent online. Leaving the internet connected doesn't cost anything, it's only "doing things" that uses up the bytes.

Viewing 25 web pages takes roughly 1MB, so a low 1GB monthly limit means roughly 25,000 pages. So for those doing just a little web-browsing and downloading emails, the limits are irrelevant. Downloading music, software or videos eats up data much faster though, as does watching content from one of the growing number of web TV services.

To keep on top of your data use, download a free bandwidth monitor. As well as letting you know exactly how much of your quota you have left each month, you'll get a warning when you're near your limit.

ThinkBroadband's tbbMeter promises to track usage on multiple machines in the near future, while Rokario and Netmeter only work per PC, so if you've more than one computer connected to the net, you'll have to tot up the totals.

If you've embraced the idea of watching TV on your computer, it's important you're aware of the costs. Streaming video (when the shows are piped directly to your screen) is better than downloading, but can still eat up data very quickly.

For example, watch an hour-long show in high quality on the BBC's iPlayer, and you could plough through 600MB of data. If you've an unlimited download package this won't be an issue, but those with low monthly data allowances should think twice before viewing. A 2GB allowance equates to less than 3.5 hours' viewing at reasonable quality.

For more info on streaming, read the Watch Movies Online guide.

Internet speed is measured in Mb (megabits per second), the amount of information transferred per second.

Just because a package says "up to" 20Mb don't assume that's what you'll get. Many factors affect your actual speed:

• Proximity to the phone exchange
• Condition of the lines and wiring
• Contention ratio (the number of people competing for bandwidth in your area)
• Traffic shaping (where providers slow speeds during busy hours or if you're a really heavy downloader).

To find out what speed you're receiving, do a speed test*. It'll test the exact speed you're receiving at that moment with your current broadband provider. This speed will depend on several things, as well as those listed above:

• The number of people trying to get online in your house (on PCs, laptops, mobiles, games consoles, etc).
• What you're currently doing (programs running in the background on your machine such as Skype or MSN, downloading content, streaming content).
• The time of day.

If you don't know your modem from your mobile, you may find yourself on the phone to technical support a lot while setting up your broadband. As this can cost up to 50p/min, a few 20-minute calls could easily eat away any saving from getting a cheaper package.

Of course, you could also ask for help from fellow MoneySavers on our forum's Techie Board (if you've already managed to get online).

Since you'll likely be signing a 12-month (or longer) contract, it's crucial to check feedback before diving in.

Sites like ThinkBroadband and ISPReview, as well as our broadband forum, have a wealth of customer feedback. Make sure you read a whole range though, as no matter how good overall, every provider has its share of disappointed customers.

Likewise, add your own feedback once your broadband's been up and running a while, to help improve accuracy.

We include the results of our latest customer satisfaction poll in all our best buys, so you can see how each provider ranked with other MoneySavers.

Some of the very cheapest broadband deals come as part of an overall phone/broadband package. If you're looking to get an all-in-one package, please read the Cheapest Home Phones article and look at the bundled best buys.

It's worth noting that if you're switching from cable broadband to broadband that requires a BT line, and you don't already have one, it can be pricey. See line installation options for full info.

If you're on the move with your laptop or don't want a fixed landline, you can connect to the web via mobile broadband from as little as about £7/month. Instead of connecting through a landline, 3G web access makes use of mobile phone networks to send data, meaning you can connect wherever there's a mobile signal.

You don't need a mobile phone to do it; these packages come supplied with a little modem that takes its place. For full options, read the Cheapest Mobile Broadband guide.