A new ISP aimed specifically at UK students is due to go live later this month.

NETStudent reckons it can serve up just want students want - keeping its service simple and affordable.

There's a pay-as-you-go option, while £13.99 a month gets you 150 hours online. Oh, and NETStudent's ADSL broadband service costs £25.55 a month.

However, if price really is an issue for hard-up students then it might well be worth taking a look at ADSLGuide's list of broadband ISPs and their prices before committing what meagre cash they have.

Talking of broadband, Totalise - one of the stable of ISPs owned by Brightview - is offering ADSL for £23.99 a month. It's also cut the cost of its unmetered dial-up "Anytime" from £14.99 a month to £10.99 a month.

According to Caroline Frankel, Brightview's chief marketing officer: "Totalise customers now have the chance to upgrade to broadband and unmetered services at a significantly cheaper rate than most other ISPs."

Of course, you can't get much cheaper than free. And that's exactly what Silvermead Satellite Broadband is offering punters interested in hooking up to its service.

They wrote to us saying that "we have started offering free trial accounts to any members interested in joining our leading satellite broadband service". Wow, that sounds good, we thought.

The catch, unfortunately, is that you'll need to supply your own satellite dish, oh, and your own satellite modem. As long as you've got that, you can get a free trial of Silvermead's one-way satellite service.

How long is the free trial you ask? Well, about 48 hours - you know, just to make sure it works.

Talking of satellite, Aramiska has unveiled a new product which it claims is the "UK's first community broadband service specifically designed to bring affordable broadband to individuals living in rural communities".

Its ARC 2000+ product allows communities to run wireless broadband services using the two-way satellite service from Aramiska. The service is already being used in West Hatton, Northampton and Angus Glens, Scotland.

Of course, one of the key things about always-on broadband services is security. AOL UK has confirmed that its broadband punters - who pay from £27.99 a month for their services - can now download McAfee Personal Firewall Plus for no extra charge.

The offer is "all part of AOL's efforts to make the broadband Internet experience safer and more enjoyable for its members", apparently. ®