This winter hundreds of thousands of consumers will come to the end of 18-month broadband contracts with TalkTalk, Times Money’s Villain of the Year in 2006.

Experts agree that many of the problems that blighted the company’s first months in business have been resolved, but that anyone coming to the end of a broadband deal should check out all the options in a constantly changing market.

First, some reassurance. Most subscribers whose contracts are ending will be put on to rolling 30-day deals – not, as some fear, a second 12 or 18-month stretch. And Andrew Ferguson, of Thinkbroadband.com, a specialist website, says that most will be able to switch providers with little or no interruption to service. He suggests that you request and use a migration authorisation code (MAC) or, if this is not an option, ask for a “simultaneous provide”.

But he adds a caveat: “Tell the provider that you wish to migrate to another network – not quit broadband altogether. Unless you spell this out, you may face a telephone line reconnection fee of up to £125 later.”

Jason Lloyd, of Moneysupermarket. com, the comparison website, advisers consumers coming to the end of a contract to search for the best deals online, then contact their current provider. “Call them and explain that you want to leave. Ask what they are willing to do to keep you,” he says.

Before you agree to a reduced price, however, consider that other providers may offer you a package more suited to your internet use. If you download a lot of music or video, for instance, connection speeds could be important – and could become more significant as television networks, such as the BBC, post more video content online.

Steve Weller, of uSwitch.com, another price comparison website, says that an 8Mb connection is adequate for most downloads – 16 and 24Mb deals are for keen online gamers and households with several computers.

But be cautious if you are after speed. Providers have been criticised by Ofcom, the telecoms regulator, for advertising speeds of “up to” 8, 16 and 24Mb a second when, in millions of cases, subscribers cannot achieve speeds even close to these numbers.

Mr Lloyd says that you should ask a provider to test your pc’s maximum connection speed before signing up. This will depend on your home’s distance from a telephone exchange, and the quality of local phone lines.

In a move welcomed by the comparison sites, O2, which launched a broadband service last week, will test connection speeds as a matter of course. Customers who cannot achieve its higher speeds will be moved on to cheaper, more appropriate, deals.

USwitch has identified O2’s service, which starts at £7.50 a month before line rental, as “a major threat to the established broadband barons”. But availability is limited to the 50 per cent or so of households in its LLU (Local Loop Unbundling), or “unbundled” network – an example of the “postcode lottery” in which the winners are those who live close to unbundled telephone exchanges where firms have installed their own kit to bypass BT charges. These lucky householders have more choice, and can get deals with free line rental, saving more than £10 a month.

O2’s best prices are reserved for the network’s mobile phone customers. Tie-ins such as this make like-for-like comparisons of broadband deals difficult. But Mr Weller says that Tiscali's Up to 2Mb package, which includes line rental and a home phone package with free evening and weekend calls for £14.99 a month, stands out for customers in unbundled areas. For the rest, much of rural Britain, Mr Lloyd recommends PlusNet’s Option 2 deal and Madasafish. These £14.99-a-month 8Mb services are available to all households with a BT phone line. Line rental adds £10.50 to prices with both.

Bundles of broadband, telephone and digital television services are increasingly popular. Mr Weller says that, “as a rule of thumb”, these represent the best value if you make good use of all three elements – if you are an armchair sports fan, for instance.

Once you have identified possible providers, Mr Ferguson and Mr Lloyd advise that you visit online messageboards – available at Thinkbroadband.com and Moneysupermarket.com – to read user feedback.

It is also important to read any provider’s terms and conditions. Common hidden costs include a £1 a month charge if you opt not to pay by direct debit. And be sure to check what you will pay for technical support. Orange infamously charges some customers 50p a minute to call its helpline – a service that others offer at local rates, or free.

CASE STUDY: Switching on

Joe Cross, of Clapham, South London, and his three flatmates decided to write off the final month of their one-year broadband contract with AOL to switch to Virgin Media’s “3 for £30” bundle, which includes 2Mb broadband, 125 television channels and free weekend telephone calls for £30 a month.

The 23-year-old, who works in marketing, chose Virgin rather than Sky because it will save the flatmates line rental of £10.50 a month. Mr Cross says: “AOL was fine, but we couldn’t wait to switch to a bundle. We should get better value because we watch a lot of sport on TV.”