Whether you are studying remotely and relying solely on the internet for all your lessons, or you are following a more traditional course but need your computer for research and developing assignments, as a student you will have particular requirements from your internet service provider.
If you are looking for an internet service for the student house you are living in, or you are a tutor looking to advise all your remote students on the most ideal internet service, there are a number of things to take into account when making your selection.
1. What internet speed do you need?
When considering internet speed for students, its important to understand how many people are going to be using it and the effect that will have, particularly if multiple people will need to download large files.
Make sure the internet service will be able to cope with all the requirements. If students are working remotely then there might be a lot of video calls to be made and file sharing requirements, so a high-speed, high-quality service will be essential.
2. How long do you need the internet for?
There is no point signing up for a long contract with an ISP if the students are going to be moving on within a year, so this needs to be taken into consideration. Some providers do offer shorter student contracts. You need to look at the cancellation options and any additional fees associated with that.
3. Do you need to buy a phoneline as well?
For students with limited funds, you might want to look at choosing an ISP who offers fibre optic broadband as this can usually be offered without a phone line, which comes with additional costs.
However, you will need to check what is available in your area and in the building, you are studying from as this type of broadband isn’t available everywhere. For standard broadband you will need a phone line as well.
4. The time it takes to install
If you need to have a phoneline and broadband installed at your house or place of study it can take time so you need to think about how long you can be without internet access for, while everything is connected up. Check with your ISP how long it will take and whether it will require an engineer visit or not.
5. Any extra equipment to boost the speed?
To make the most of your internet services as a student, there are a few tricks you can try including buying yourself a new router if yours is old or not working effectively and connecting using a LAN cable rather than relying on wi-fi can also help. It’s also worth checking if your ISP offers the latest in wifi connection hardware.
6. Security and safety
If your students are relatively young, they might not be particularly aware of cyber security issues and risks so look for an ISP which provides added safeguards against things like malware and viruses as curious minds might open emails they shouldn’t.
An ISP should also be able to protect students from attempted hacks and breaches and alert them to any issues as soon as they arise, so that the campus doesn’t become affected as a whole.
7. Flexibility and easy access
Modern students don’t want to be tied down to computers in dark rooms to study, so an ISP that can provide cloud-based services, allowing students to read and study from anywhere, on any device will be an added bonus. Being able to access exam notes on a phone while relaxing in the park with friends, will help to boost the number of opportunities students have to focus on their work.
8. Ongoing support and training
Many young students will be computer savvy having grown up using them, however, having an ISP that offers 24/7 support and training if required will go a long way to helping support students in their endeavours. Knowing there is someone they can message or call, if their computer crashes and loses all their work at 2am will provide a lot of reassurance to stressed out students.
9. Amount of file storage
Depending on the type of work being carried out, students might be creating large files such as artwork, graphics and videos, all of which will require storage in a central place so having an ISP which provides this ability, perhaps through a cloud-based system, is another element to take into account when searching for the best option for students.
10. Back up and crisis management
With students there is always a chance that something might go wrong, so an ISP which regularly backs up the system and has an in-built approach to crisis management if there was a successful hack or a virus got into the system, would be worth it’s weight in gold.
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