Have you just moved out for the very first time? Maybe you’re in town for college or university, or you’re moving in with a new roommate. Or perhaps you were unhappy with your internet experience before, and you’re looking into the other internet providers Ottawa has to offer. Either way, you’ve got a choice ahead of you: what kind of home internet package is right for you?
15 years ago there was really only one option: dial-up. But today, there’s cable and DSL, there’s unlimited and packages so big they may as well be unlimited. The biggest selection of all, though, is speed. There are so many options for home internet speed that they can make your head spin. Here are a few tips to help you pick internet providers in Ottawa when it comes to speed:
How many users/devices are connected?
That 10 Mbps (Megabits per second) package may sound pretty fast, but in a house full of people, that speed is essentially being divided between every device. However, if it’s just you, your laptop, and maybe a video game system, a lower speed of home internet should do you just fine.
As a general rule, the more people using it, especially with multiple devices, the faster a package you want. These devices may include laptops, desktops, tablets, smart phones, video game consoles, and TV set-top boxes.
What are you doing online?
Some people just need to be able to check their e-mail, read the news, and look at pictures of their friends’ adorable pets on Facebook, and that’s okay. Any home internet package between 5 – 10 Mbps will do the job just fine. Other people do a lot of streaming on services like Netflix or YouTube, or a lot of downloading, and they will need something a little more high-caliber.
And of course, many who rely on internet providers in Ottawa are using it to play online multi-player games. For gaming purposes you always want a higher-speed connection, perhaps even as high as 50 Mbps. This is because your participation in a game is aided by how quickly your PC or console can transmit the information of what you do to other players, as well as how quickly you can receive information in return. A slower or less reliable connection – especially if shared with roommates – can interrupt the flow of gameplay in unfavourable ways.
Budget
Of course, the faster the home internet service, the more it will cost you from month to month. While balancing the need for speed with the constraints of budget, it may be encouraging to know that many internet providers in Ottawa offer great speeds at prices that won’t break the bank. Contact your local internet service provider today to discover just how fast you can go!
