The one thing that people always ask is advice on signing up for a particular service. How do you compare the same service provided by different companies? How to determine which one of these is the best? How can you get discounts?
This guide is particularly related to choosing the best internet service provider that offers the best home internet plan. The Internet has become a necessity in today’s world, especially since this ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has introduced work from home and online classes.
A good and fast internet plan ensures that you never have to worry about the internet giving up on you. This specifically applies to individuals who need the internet to communicate with their coworkers on a daily basis.
There are many top-tier internet service providers in the United States, and it can get overwhelming when choosing the best one. That is why we’ve decided to share a guide on how you can choose the best internet service, provider.
Let’s dig in and find out how!
What Are The Different Types of Home Internet Services Available?
There’s no one type of home internet service. Each area has a different type of service and speed offered to consumers.
Here are the different types of home internet services:
- DSL, whose long-form is Digital Subscriber Line. It is delivered via an existing telephone line in your house. It is by far the cheapest form of home internet service in the form of broadband internet. However, the biggest disadvantage of DSL internet is that its speeds are dependent on the distance between the service provider and your home.
- Cable internet is delivered through your cable service. Its advertised speeds are much higher as compared to DSL. That said, you will be sharing the service with your neighborhood. In other words, you can expect slower speed during peak hours.
- Satellite internet is delivered through a satellite service. Comparatively, satellite service is much slower. Moreover, you’re more likely to experience short hiccups in its service, which are barely noticeable.
- Fiber-optic internet is slowly becoming more available. Fiber-optic internet is similar to DSL internet but offers higher speeds, and is slowly getting even faster.
To sum it up, you’ll want to first consider DSL or fiber-optic service in your area for home internet use.
Factors to Consider When Shopping for an Internet Provider
When you begin to compare internet offers between different internet service providers, you’ll want to consider several factors. Here are some factors that you would want to know from your internet service provider:
Speed
Most internet service providers will tell you about the internet speed they offer, in the form of upload and download speeds. You should be more concerned about the download speed unless of course you will be uploading more stuff on the internet rather than downloading.
You should also consider the fact that which internet service is offering this speed, whether it’s cable or etc. This is because speeds vary depending on the time of day.
Data Caps
Is there a monthly cap on the amount of data you can download? Some internet service providers do this, and it’s always a drawback, especially if you’re a frequent streaming user.
Introductory Deals
Is the price you’re being told for the internet plan an introductory price? If that is so, will it increase once the promotion ends, and by how much? It’s important to take note of this.
Bundling
If you’re currently using a particular company for cable service, phone service, or similar service, you might just get a better rate if you were to bundle up. You can also consider moving your services into a bundle with the new services.
Your Local Neighborhood
Every neighborhood is different, and so are the cables in the ground. The offers also depend on the area to area. The customer support is different, and so are the people working in the service line.
Price per Mbps
Price per Mbps consists of the additional monthly costs and rental of equipment. It’s always smart to note down what the internet service providers are advertising for the speed and the total cost.
Simply divide this cost by the speeds, and you’ll get the cost per Mbps, and this is the number to be used as a deciding factor if none of the above factors helped you decide.
Conclusion
Choosing the right internet service provider is important if you want to receive the ideal kind of speed and user experience. Since you’ll be paying, you should definitely know what you’re signing up for.
