Do you have slow, spotty, and simply unreliable internet at home? Perhaps you should try something new. It is possible to obtain internet at home in more ways than people realize. Which broadband plan is right for you?
Find out in this post.
Table of Contents
Four Home Broadband Types
In the early days of the internet, people had to use painfully slow dial-up modems that tethered their phone lines. The dial-up connection has not truly disappeared – there are still 21 million people who use the service. However, internet access at home is more likely through a broadband connection.
It is not a technical term, but we hear it a lot. Broadband means a continuous connection to the internet. High-speed internet is also known as broadband. It comes in four forms:
Cable Internet
Cable providers are the most common source of internet access for most people. This broadband connection consists of coaxial cables that may also carry a home phone line and cable TV. The speeds you can expect might differ dramatically based on your location and other factors, but you can generally expect 3 Mbps to 100 Mbps.
In general, cable internet is relatively easy to set up. With a few phone calls or a visit to the website, you can add internet service to your existing cable TV package. In addition, you will likely save some money by bundling services – at least for the first few months.
Cable internet has a few downsides. Customer service with cable is not pretty good. People often have complaints about cable, lots of them. It is, therefore, important to do your research and never go wrong with your cable internet choice. For instance, Spectrum is great as far as customer service is concerned. They also have amazing internet plans and packages. Check out https://www.localcabledeals.com/Spectrum/Packages today to find out more.
Direct Subscriber Line
With DSL, you receive internet over your phone line. However, this is not dial-up. Although DSL is slightly slower than most cable internet, it is fast enough to stream Netflix, play online games, and do other web-related tasks.
The two main types of DSL are asymmetrical (ADSL) and symmetrical (SDSL). Download speeds are faster with ADSL, but upload speeds are slower. However, SDSL offers equal speeds for uploading and downloading.
It is important to note that all DSL speeds are (often significantly) affected by the distance from the service provider. As you get closer, your speeds will increase. As a result, DSL quality generally declines as you get further and further away from major cities and towns.
DSL is usually one of the most affordable options. In addition, it is widely available. DSL allows residents to stream movies and surf the web at home through a reliable, affordable connection.
Satellite
Unlike cable, phone lines, or other wires, satellite internet services do not require any connections at your home. A small satellite is attached to your house and beams internet directly to it. The download and upload speeds are about 15Mbps.
Many areas are accessible by satellite internet that are not accessible by other providers. However, you will still have to locate a provider in your area. DSL and cable are often more expensive than satellite service.
Fios
With Fiber Optic Service, you get faster internet than any other method. Fiber optic networks transmit pulses of light through tiny strands of glass. Your home computer reads electrical impulses converted by these pulses that travel 186,000 miles per second.
The FiOS network is very fast. There is a maximum download speed of 300 Mbps and an upload speed of 65 Mbps with fiber optic internet. You will want fiber optic cables if you want the best internet experience.
Unfortunately, you may have to move to get FiOS. The availability of fiber optic services is limited currently to 16 states, including Texas, Massachusetts, and California. Additionally, FiOS is only offered by AT&T, Verizon, EarthLink HyperLink, Google Fiber, and Qwest. If FiOS is not accessible in your area, you may have to wait for a while.
Internet Service Plans: Choosing the Right One
The next step is to choose a specific plan from the options available in your area. You should focus on the download speed, upload speed, and data limit.
Downloading Speeds
You can download data at these speeds to your computer. You download data when you stream a movie, download a video game or play a video game. Smoother gameplay is the result of faster download speeds. When download speeds are slow, video freezes, connections drop, and other problems occur.
Uploading Speeds
This is a measure of the speed that your computer is able to send data across the internet. Using a file server or a cloud-based storage system regularly will require fast upload speeds.
However, if you are not uploading a lot of data, you may not need extremely fast speeds. In order to keep customers from paying for upload speeds they do not require, DSL offers symmetrical and asymmetrical services.
Data Limits
When broadband was first introduced, data limits were rate-based. Customers were free to download as much as they wanted. Many ISPs tried throttling these users but ultimately decided to set data caps for everyone.
Typical monthly usage is 1000 GB. Having Netflix available for a few hours a day, surfing the web, and downloading a few movies should be sufficient. If you do not usually download a great deal of data, you probably will not need a bigger data limit.
A couple of circumstances, however, can have a profound effect on the use of your data in the future:
- 4K Video
- Zombie Devices
Zombie Devices
You do not have to worry about these devices biting you! Yet they will silently and steadily consume data all day and night in the background. These devices are connecting to the internet almost all the time and slowly eating away at your data cap.
There are numerous “zombie devices“, including smartwatches, smart appliances, cameras, and more. Almost anything with an internet connection is capable of using data. The increase of these devices in homes can have a significant impact on data caps as more and more of them are introduced.
Ultra High Definition
Video in 4K is the future of picture quality. The 4K video resolution is already revolutionizing video quality with a resolution of up to four times that of standard 1080p. But this increase in resolution also brings more data.
The average person uses about 4.5 GB of data each hour to watch a video in 1080p. The amount of data used in the 4K video is roughly four times that in 1080p. The data consumption of Ultra High Definition video will likely be halved by the time the technology is more mainstream; however, it will still consume more data than traditional video.
What is the future of the internet?
As technology improves, data consumption will generally rise. Zombies and 4K video both indicate this trend. It is likely that even if you do not change what you do online, you will see a “data inflation.” If you tend to surpass your data cap, you may need to upgrade within a year.
It is important to consider this if you have a long-term contract with your provider. When you commit to several years of service, cable companies offer bundled packages that are cheaper. Even though companies are always willing to increase your data cap, the best deals are often found when renegotiating a long-term contract. It might be a good idea to choose a data cap that is just a bit larger than your needs now, with the expectation that you will need that extra data in a few years’ time.
Conclusion
Getting the best internet plan for your home is not an easy task. There are many factors to consider, including speed, reliability, pricing, availability in your area, and more. You also have to see if the customer service is top-notch. We hope this post gave you an idea of what to look for in a home internet plan. Now that you know pretty much about the considerations of an internet plan, it is time to make the decision.
Let us know which internet plan you go for in the comments section below. You can also drop your questions, suggestions, and queries. We will get back to you soon.
