Most high-end games high speed Internet services. Here check 5 Best Internet Providers for Gaming Pursuits.
The advent of the Internet Age ushered in a world of digital possibilities for the artisans of many trades; the most notable of which were (and are) gamers of every color and stripe. These adrenaline junkies, unlike their physical sporting counterparts who skirmish in football fields and baseball stadiums the world over, seek to attain their ‘thrills’ from elaborate online gaming sessions that often proceed with breathtaking speed. All of these virtual expeditions, however, intrinsically require the provision of a high-speed Internet connection (like the one on offer from Charter Spectrum internet service– among other vendors) to be enacted successfully.
Nowadays, it is not unusual for individual gamers (who may hail from any racial, economic or sociopolitical setting) to come together in grueling gaming conventions, and vie for the ultimate glory that comes with besting their competition. Gaming champions are forged after going through years of practice in online playing forums, and command a great deal of notoriety in the cyber world. When asked for some of the leading extrinsic factors that ultimately weighed-in into their success, most of them cheerfully happen to cite the availability of reliable Internet services as being one of the most pivotal of influences. And when this assertion is considered in the light of empirical reality, it is hard to disagree with this point – even if the concerned high-speed Internet subscriptions should prove to be a bit costly.
In this article, we try to briefly delineate the Top 5 ISPs whose Internet subscriptions continue to be used by gamers on a daily (and priority) basis. All of the service providers mentioned here are largely familiar names, whose market popularity is deemed to be completely warranted (by highly-experienced Internet industry analysts and Pro Gamers alike). So if you are an ardent Internet user, with a particular stake in the new-age gaming venture made practicable through it, signing-up with one of these carriers can reap in big performance-oriented dividends for you – in both the short, and long, terms.
So (by way of a friendly prescription) it is worth paying a close attention to this listing…
XFINITY Internet (Standalone & Bundle Plans)
In the ISP industry today, not many service providers compare with XFINITY in terms of offering some of the highest Internet speeds and extra-service features to the end-user. When considered from the gaming standpoint, the company’s acclaimed service plans can provide up to 2 Gbps in fast downloading rates, along with uninterrupted service transmissions (with Internet Speed & Services Reliability both constituting the most important gaming-specific metrics used by ISP Industry critics in their analyses). Popular modern PC/MAC game titles, such as the graphics-intensive World of Warcraft, Dota, Counter Strike and Medal of Honor series’ (among many others), not only demand sophisticated computer hardware (such as high-end monitors, graphics cards & CPUs) for their functioning, but fast ping rates as well.
‘Ping’ is a measure of the speed at which digital information is transferred from one system in a network to another, and in the context of Internet gaming, proves vital to the linking-process (with other players). Even on this front, Xfinity’s Internet services rank far higher than the subscription offerings of other connectivity vendors.
Spectrum Internet (‘Double Play’ & ‘Triple Play’ Provisions)
Trailing behind the above-mentioned ISP by only a few inches (but still popularly categorized as being in a ‘league of its own’), Spectrum Internet also constitutes a very good service option for the average pro-gamer. By offerings, stable bandwidth (data-transfer) rates in excess of 60 Mbps with no monthly data-caps (which serve to clamp the Internet subscription after a particular bill due-date has passed without payment), the company’s reputed connection services prove to be ideal for gamer’s who regularly engage in round-the-clock online sporting sessions.
The accompaniment of a stringent antivirus security suite that covertly operates in the background of each Internet subscription plan (whether standalone or bundled) doesn’t hurt much either.
What’s more, the company’s Internet services come in highly-affordable monthly packages, making the Spectrum Internet Ultra series one of the best web-service options for people who like to constantly remain on a budget (and may be afraid to exceed its strict monetary stipulations).
COX Internet (The Internet 100 & 300 Series)
For gamers who might want to avail a few other entertainment (or professional) services from their Internet subscriptions, COX Internet plans provide high-speed and affordable contingency options that cater to these additional requirements quite effortlessly.
With Internet Speeds in the 100 Mbps to 300 Mbps bandwidth range, along with no reported service outages (as per the testimony of the company’s varied service subscribers), COX Internet plans prove sufficient in meeting even the most demanding gamers’ wildest online expectations head-on.
Although the company’s large assortment of customizable service plans are not as feature-rich as the above two ISP vendors’ trailblazing offerings, they do serve their users with both efficiency and performance-predictability. And in our assessment, these two service indicators count heavily in the subscription decisions of serious gaming enthusiasts.
Frontier Internet (Subscription Plans that DO Help in Traversing New Horizons)
The Gaming Industry (which plays host to popular video game design companies like EA Games, Nintendo, Activision, Sega Games & others) is largely in the habit of ‘dishing out’ dozens of new game titles every year. In trying to stay updated with this perpetual digital onslaught of interactive multimedia productions, all gamers invest huge sums of money to acquire the latest in hardware equipment – as well as reliable internet services – to ensure that they get to experience their game-play without any performance glitches.
A frozen computer screen (due to a RAM malfunction or a lagging Internet connection) poses a ‘horror’ scenario for any gamer, and is something that completely bogs down the entire gaming venture in its totality.
Frontier Internet plans, which offer fast Internet speeds between 6 Mbps to 24 Mbps (for their basic Internet subscriptions) and 50 Mbps to 150 Mbps (for their fiber-optic and high-end FiOS packages) provide gamers with the peace of mind that they need on the gaming front – leaving them free to only worry about their gadget concerns.
CenturyLink Internet (Enough to Get ALL Gamers by…)
And our choice for the Number 5 spot (on this list) irrevocably goes to CenturyLink Internet. The reasoning behind this less-than-hallowed (though by no means indicative of the service performance provided) placement mostly pertains to the company’s plan-tariffs – which largely border on the pricier end of the subscription spectrum.
Since plan costs factor-in heavily into the subscription decisions of every service consumer (and not just gamers), some of the more exorbitant prices on offer by CenturyLink can greatly cause a potential subscriber to shy away from entering the company’s fold. In terms of pure speeds, however, the vendor’s Internet plans can transmit up to a whopping 1 Gbps in downloading rates – which are enough to carry out not just one, but several intense gaming sessions simultaneously.
Note:
The listing provided here reflects the views of a trio of experienced ISP Industry & Gaming Analysts. It is by no means meant to be taken as an exhaustive analysis of the Internet trends that currently dominate the virtual gaming sphere.