When it comes to online gaming, there are many factors to be considered. To be honest, we spent a lot of money buying games, its passes; the PSN or Steam memberships, and high-tech equipment or consoles. However, when it comes to high-speed internet, we tend to shy away from the burden by getting cheaper packages with no value-for-money whatsoever. It is crucial to have high-speed internet for online gaming. Otherwise, what is the point of being 5 seconds behind every other player?
Moreover, the broadband industry in the United States is booming and we have many different providers promising blazing-fast speeds like Spectrum and Cox Internet. Since there are so many options available, it creates a great deal of confusion to get one according to our daily requirements. Therefore, we came up with a comprehensive guide of packages with different providers so that it can make your decision-making process easier.
Also Read: Make Sure your Internet is Sufficient for Gaming
Before that, here are the things that influence gaming and you must understand:
Latency
It is the delay taken by data to reach the server and is very crucial for smoother gameplay. The higher your latency is, the greater will be the lag while gaming online. For example, if your latency is around 1000ms, you are more likely to chase shadows during a battle royale. Therefore, reduced latency is important for first-person shooting and multiplayer racing games.
Ping
In most simple words, ping is the message sent by your console to test the latency. Higher ping indicates poor online multiplayer experience. Therefore, whatever internet speed you get from your ISP, the ping should be below 150ms for online games to run smoothly.
Download Speed
Download speeds are advertised by internet service providers to lure customers into signing up for the services and there is a common misconception about them. You might have been told that only latency or ping is the factor that controls everything in the world of gaming. However, this is not the case entirely. Download and Upload speeds contribute towards maximizing your gaming experience and refer to how fast the signal reaches you and the server. Your download speeds should cater to the needs of your household. If more people are using the internet simultaneously, it is advised to have high-speed internet so that everyone has a fair share of bandwidth.
Here are the best internet packages for gaming:
Cox Internet Preferred 150
Cox is arguably one of the biggest Internet and Cable Service providers in the US with services across 18 states. The packages and plans are tailored to meet the requirement of an email or basic browsing-only household to a streaming frenzy and gaming household. If you are a gamer and love streaming your favorite series on Netflix or Hulu, the Cox Internet Preferred 150 should be your first choice. It comes with a download speed of up to 150 Mbps and you get 1TB data every month which is kind of unlimited. Moreover, PC gamers can sign-up for the Cox Elite Gamer Plan for a better online gaming experience. It redirects the information from your system to the server through a faster route. Therefore, you get reduced latency and ping.
Spectrum Internet 100
Spectrum is another key stakeholder in the States’ broadband industry with services across all the major states. Spectrum has a lot to offer in terms of service and perks added to it. You don’t have to get in any contract and they have a 30-day money-back guarantee. Spectrum 100 gets you download speed up to 100 Mbps with unlimited data. The modem is free of cost and you don’t have to pay for any rental. The plan starts at $49.99. You can get speeds up to 200 Mbps, 400 Mbps, and even 940 Mbps
Mediacom Internet 200
Mediacom is another great provider known for its high-speed internet. The internet speeds range from 100 Mbps to 1 Gbps and have varying data caps. Higher plans have a higher data limit. The amazing deals if you bundle up services. Most of the packages are without a contract. The only downside to Mediacom Internet is the installation and activation fee at the time of setting up services. So, for the first month, you might have to pay $110 on top of your monthly bill.
AT&T INTERNET 100
AT&T is one of the top three internet providers in the US with services across 42 states. They have a bunch of deals and plans to offer. With this plan, you get up to 100 Mbps download speed and most importantly, you get monthly data of 1TB. This package is highly recommended for 2-3 gamers living in a house.
