Customers of Virgin Media will see their bills rise by up to £3.49 a month from November after the media giant announced its third price hike this year.

While this could prompt some customers to want to switch provider, which under rules laid down by industry watchdog Ofcom can be done penalty-free in the 30 days after the change was notified, trying to make sense of what is on offer can be something of a minefield.

Part of the issue is that broadband deals can be a postcode lottery because not all offers are available in every area. Someone living in the centre of Glasgow would likely have a high degree of choice while people living in more remote areas, where fibre-optic broadband might not be on offer, could be more restricted.

The first thing customers need to be aware of when looking at broadband deals is the amount of speed they are likely to need. Broadband is delivered using either BT phone lines – known as ADSL - or fibre optic cables, with the former offering the slowest speeds.

While a basic ADSL package offering speeds of up to 17 megabits per second is probably enough for web browsing and emails, anyone wanting to stream TV or have multiple users connected at the same time might want to pay more for a quicker connection, especially if buffering is a problem.

As Kevin Pratt, consumer finance expert at price comparison website MoneySuperMarket, explained: "If there are lots of devices in use in your house, with heavy amounts of streaming, gaming and downloading, you'd likely benefit from using a fast fibre optic cable connection - providing one is available at your address - rather than a conventional copper wire set-up.

“Signals sent along fibres don't degrade in the same way as those travelling along wires, so you benefit from better speed and quality. The net result is less buffering and fewer disputes about who's hogging the internet."

Virgin Media offers the fastest broadband service in the UK, with speeds of up to 200 Mbps, but most of the other big providers also offer fibre optic broadband with speeds of up to 76Mbps.

The crucial thing to note in this is the term ‘up to’, however. While Ofcom stipulates that companies can only advertise speeds if they are achieved by at least 10 per cent of customers, the rules mean that millions of people could be paying for broadband speeds they will never actually receive.

Broadband deals also often come with usage limits and bills can quickly skyrocket if these are exceeded.

"If your household chews through a lot of data - perhaps 40 gigabytes or more a month on streaming and online gaming, say - then it's worth thinking about a deal with an unlimited data allowance,” said Mr Pratt.

“With a pre-set monthly limit there's always the danger you might get clobbered with an expensive charge for every gigabyte you use above that amount. With an unlimited deal, you remove that anxiety, although the bottom-line cost of the deal itself will be higher than one with a usage cap."

For anyone unsure of their usage requirements, comparison website uSwitch suggests a monthly data limit of 2GB a month for anyone wanting to simply browse the internet and send emails, 10GB to 30GB a month for those also wanting to watch on-demand TV and 40 to 80GB or unlimited packages for users who will also download music and frequent online gaming sites.

Contract terms are likely to influence people’s choice of broadband provider, with providers typically requiring customers to sign up for 12, 18 or 24 months.

Generally speaking, the longer the contract the lower the monthly cost, but customers should only sign up to a long contract if they are absolutely sure it meets their requirements, as hefty penalties are usually applied for anyone wanting to switch before the contract expires.

There are a small number of no-contract options, but they can be pricey. An alternative is to consider mobile broadband, though connections speeds are often slower and usage limits are usually lower.

It is no secret that the cost of broadband deals can be confusing, with many suppliers separating the price of broadband from the price of line rental. While the actual broadband might cost £5 a month when line rental of £15 a month is added in the monthly cost jumps to £20.

Under most broadband deals a home phone service is usually part of the package and a phone and broadband bundle does not necessarily work out more expensive than having separate contracts. In fact, Duncan Heaney, a senior writer at broadbandchoices.co.uk, said that if a television package is added too, a bundle will generally be the best-value option.

While there is lots to think about when considering a change of provider, the quickest and easiest way to find the best broadband deal is to use comparison sites such as broadbandchoices, MoneySuperMarket or uSwitch.