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BROADBAND deals tend to shout when they've got 'unlimited usage'. But do you need it?

According to a poll of 2,000 internet users carried out by ComputerActive magazine at the end of last year, almost nine out of ten households pay more than they need to for their broadband services.

The survey, found that 85% of homes do not use the internet for downloading films or carrying out other high speed activities which, as we'll see soak up GBs like a sponge.

In other words, when, by the end of this article, you know how much broadband usage you actually need you could save a packet by switching.

Though the outlines below should give you a good idea, note that applications like Netmeter can monitor your current usage to give you accurate picture of how much bandwidth you use.

62% of broadband users are unaware of their broadband download allowance, research commissioned by Eclipse Internet suggests.

How much web usage do I need for browsing and email?

Those of you who simply surf the net and check emails without major use of sites that utilise video or audio streams will be the best off, as the type of broadband deals suited to this activity are nearly always the cheapest.

'Browsing' encompasses many everyday web activities, ComputerActive's poll shows that most of use go online for shopping (62%), online banking (58%), social networking (57%) or for reading, entertainment or news (45%) all of which count as simple web browsing.

Sky's basic broadband, which is free with Sky TV, is another good example of light use for less. It has a 2GB allowance.

Monthly broadband usage required for browsing and email: at least 2GB per month

How much web usage do I need for TV and radio catch-up?

The rise of the likes of BBC's iPlayer and YouTube has meant a rise in the amount of video many people watch.

Watching video across the internet requires a constant stream of data flowing between you and the central server. It can therefore be a very bandwidth hungry activity.

If you are using iPlayer expect to use between 200-500Mb of bandwidth per programme depending on its length and quality.

That means that a deal with 10GB usage, for example, offers more than enough scope for watching a few programmes a week online and listen to much more music online. Note also that Plusnet offer truly unlimited usage between midnight and 8am if you do have to download essential program updates.

Watching TV via your broadband connection uses a lot of data. Watching High Definition (HD) TV over broadband uses even more data. Even streaming Radio 4 all day uses a large amount of data.

In fact, regular usage of online services such as these could have a potentially devastating effect on any monthly download limits that are part of your broadband package.

It's very difficult to say how much bandwidth you might use when it comes to watching online TV as BBC iPlayer, 4 on Demand, ITV Player and YouTube, to name but a few, all use different video encoding methods to compress video and stream it to your PC.

However, we can give you a very good idea which will let you decide whether you need to go for a beefier broadband package or maybe even an unlimited broadband deal.

BBC iPlayer

BBC iPlayer for example is a ravenous beast in bandwidth terms as it automatically adjusts the quality of the video according to the speed of your broadband connection.

Luckily, there is a low bandwidth option if you want to reduce your usage but this still uses around 450-500MB per hour of video. If you want watch iPlayer in high quality a one hour programme will use around 650MB of data.

4oD by comparison uses smaller amounts of data but has inferior video quality.

It's clear then that a 10GB download limit won't be enough to let you watch seven hours of online TV a week as this roughly equates to 4.4GB per week and around 17GB of usage per month.

This would leave you 7GB over the 10GB limit and facing some potentially hefty excess bandwidth charges.

In addition, that 17GB figure doesn't include any other web activity you may indulge in such as general web browsing, emailing friends and family, watching old ladies put cats into wheelie bins on YouTube or indulging in guilty musical pleasures via Spotify (100MB per hour).

Over a month this could all add up significantly, meaning all fingers, signs and dowsing rods begin to point toward the direction of unlimited broadband packages or at least those with a much larger download allowance.

In addition, however, it's worth noting that Eclipse's research found that 33% of respondents thought that continuously streaming video wouldn't effect their speeds.

That is an incorrect assumption which makes broadband speeds another factor worth thinking about for those with this kind of usage.

Monthly broadband usage required for TV and radio catch-up: at least 5GB per month for 1 programme per week.

How much web usage do I need for downloading music and movies?

According to ComputerActive's poll just 15% of internet users download films and 31% download music.

If you're part of that minority and download lots of MP3's from iTunes or Amazon then you'll need at least 10Gb of usage in order to be able to continue surfing and watching online content alongside downloading music files.

Those using movie download services twice a month will have to consider choosing a package which has an even higher allowance as the file sizes involved are that much bigger.

Monthly broadband usage required for downloading music and movies: at least 10Gb per month.

How much web usage do I need for p2p and Bittorrent?

If you are a heavy downloader who likes to share large files via peer-to-peer (p2p) services or Bittorrent networks then you'll definitely need to consider a broadband provider who'll give you an unlimited amount of usage along with a lenient fair/acceptable use policy.

In our experience the best broadband provider for this type of traffic has been Be Broadband, but also O2 Broadband.

These two Internet service providers run a network which enable you to share files quickly and seamlessly, more so than other broadband providers.

Best of all you are unlikely to ever experience your download speeds being throttled at peak time unlike Virgin Media who operate a limited downloading period between 6pm-10pm.

Monthly broadband usage required for p2p and Bittorrent: Unlimited

How much web usage do I need for online gaming?

Online gamers need bandwidth but just as important is the need for reliable speed!

By far the best package for gaming is PlusNet's Broadband Your Way Pro which prioritises all gaming traffic above everything else meaning you're never likely to lose a vital frag.

A four hour session online will use around 120Mb of data but remember that free patches and updates for for games can often run into hundreds of megabytes.

Monthly broadband usage required for online gaming: at least 15GB per month

How much web usage do I need for Skype and other VoIP?.

If you mainly use your broadband connection as a second phone line then you need to keep a careful eye on your usage.

24 hours of talktime on VoIP phone roughly equals 2.4Gb

Monthly broadband usage required for VoIP: at least 5GB per month.

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