What to look for. The first decision to make is the type of connection you want. If you're a very occasional user, then getting a mobile connection is often the cheapest and simplest. It's also useful if you travel around a lot, as it's not (usually) tied to a particular phone line/number.

Most people, however, will want a broadband connection, because it gives a reliable, almost instant connection (or 'always-on' operation) at a high bandwidth.