There are probably hundreds of different deals and price-plans for broadband, and with the connection itself being so easy to get these days, the hardest part is deciding which deal to go for, but that needn't be tough.

The huge number of deals available is great for the consumer, so to make sure that you keep your overheads low and get the best deal, it pays to have a good idea of what's available.

Home broadband deals
There are ten or more 'big name' broadband providers currently offering a wealth of deals (e.g AOL, BT, O2, Orange, Sky, TalkTalk, Tiscali and the Post Office), as well as lots of less well known providers. However, one of the first things to note about fixed line broadband is that while there's lots of choice, not every provider covers every home, so some of the options listed here might not be available to you - use Broadband Genie's free postcode availability checker to see which ones cover your area.

BT's Option 1 broadband includes WiFi minutes, and a broadband phone line with free UK evening and weekend calls. On an 18 month contract with a 10GB per month download limit, it costs £15.65 with an introductory of £7.78 for the first three months.

If you're an O2 mobile customer, O2 are currently offering a package with no download limit, on a 12 month contract, for a very competitive £7.34 per month. And even if you're not with O2 for your mobile phone, the package still only costs £12.23 per month.

Tiscali have another unlimited download, 12 month offer, which includes free weekend UK and international landline telephone calls. Tiscali have it for £14.99 per month, with an introductory price of £9.99 for the first three months.

Virgin's size M broadband package offers free weekend UK landline calls, plus unlimited downloads on a 12 month contract. The offer costs £4.50 per month for the first six months, and £9 per month after that, although you have to add £11 per month line rental to that, so it's really £15.50 and £20.

Home and Mobile Broadband
If you think you'll benefit from having both fixed line and mobile broadband, then one option would be BT's Option 3, including unlimited downloads, BT Openzone minutes and ìfreeî mobile broadband. Really it's a bundled deal which costs from £26.99 per month plus VAT.

Alternatively, O2 currently offers 16Mb home broadband for only £5 per month when you sign up for O2 mobile broadband, so you could have both from around £20 per month.

Mobile Broadband Deals
A good guide price for mobile broadband is around £15 per month for a 3GB download limit on a 12 or 18 month contract (most operators have this option or something very similar), but there's a good variety of choices around this, in particular some laptop give-aways, which could be just the thing if you're just setting up your home office.

3 Mobile
Existing 3 customers get 50% off line rental on all 18 and 24-month mobile broadband contracts, so if you're mobile phone is with 3 they're one to consider. 3 is currently offering one of the lowest price packages around: Broadband Lite for just £10 per month. Alternatively, get a free HP laptop with a £30 per month contract.

O2
If you're not so sure about signing up for a contract, O2 offer a pay as you go option, which gives you a range of flexible connection choices from as little as £2 for a day's use.

Orange
One of Orange's more interesting offers is a free Asus Eee PC with their £24.99 per month, 24 month contract, with a 3GB cap.

T-Mobile
T-Mobile has a good choice for anyone who is considering mobile broadband as their only broadband connection, with larger download limits. This option allows 10GB of downloads for £35 per month.

Vodafone
In addition to a basic deal, Vodafone have several options which offer the very attractive Dell Inspiron Netbook (a laptop no bigger than the average paperback) for free.

Broadband offers change frequently, with new offers becoming available regularly, so before you make a decision it's well worth visiting a broadband comparison site such as Broadband Genie, which has all the most up to date information, as well as various ways to compare prices. Once you've made your decision, simply click through to be delivered directly to the offer in question.

About the author: Ciaron Dunne is editor of www.broadbandgenie.co.uk, the independent comparison website for broadband and mobile broadband.

See Broadband - The Complete Guide to Getting Connected for more information on broadband choices.