Top 10 Gaming Broadband Deals

Over the last few years, internet gaming has increased in popularity exponentially. This guide will take you through a few things to take into consideration to ensure you get the very best online gaming experience and maybe even you give you an advantage against the competition.

Choosing gaming broadband:

• Speed- Obviously, you are looking for the fastest broadband connection possible.
• Download allowance- Download limits are soon reached when gaming intensively, so if you‘re a high internet user you might prefer an unlimited package.
• Low latency
• No throttle
• Static IP
• Low contention ratio
• Avoid ISPs that use datastream- such as Tiscali and Bulldog, as internet speeds slow down when the telephone exchange becomes busier with datastream.

Gaming broadband ISPs

The following broadband providers excel in offering great-value gaming broadband packages:

• BT's fibre broadband Infinity products are fantastic for online gaming, offering speeds of up to 76Mb and low latency rates to ensure minimum lag between the moment you press your controlpad and the moment the command is registered.
• Virgin Media's super fast fibre optic broadband packages minimise 'ping' to provide customers with the smoothest gaming experience possible.
• TalkTalk's cable broadband offers comparable speeds in line with BT Infinity.
• Be's Unlimited and Pro packages feature speeds of up to 16Mb and some of the best customer support around.
• O2's The Works package is extremely popular with gamers and has even sometimes included free Xbox 360 games when customers sign up.
• PlusNet offer excellent support for gamers using their PlusNet Pro for Gaming package

Gaming consoles and broadband:

• PC - Connecting to the internet is simple enough.
• PSP, PS3, Wii or Nintendo 3DS - Pretty simple to connect too and these three have wireless capability - just make sure your wireless router is compatible.
• Xbox 360- You're going to need to buy a wireless adapter, or connect directly to a modem.
• Playstation 2, or Xbox, or older- You may have to buy additional hardware such as a network adaptor.

Note:

• Some internet games require subscription payments even after you have bought the game. Mostly these are MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games) such as the hugely popular World of Warcraft. This is because when you play these games you involve yourself in a community that needs maintenance, the cost of which is covered by your subs.

However, if you just want to race someone on the other side of the world on Mario Kart DS, then your DS will connect immediately through a wireless network straight out of the box and there's no need to pay a penny.