The ultimate guide to choosing a broadband bundle for gamers - which BT broadband packages are best for gaming?

Online gaming, whether you do it on the internet or via a console, can provide some challenges for many broadband providers and gamers can experience some technical delays with a poor connection. Check out this essential guide to finding a broadband package that offers minimum downtime and maximum game time!
We all know dial-up connections are a thing of the past but many avid gamers experience similar speeds at the most inconvenient points of game time. Broadband is a huge part of modern gaming and knowing your download speeds, limits and lag can mean the difference between getting the right connection for you and your hobby.

Gaming involves consistent downloads and uploads of data so your download speed is the most important factor in a smooth and seamless exchange. A slow connection can cause equally slow in-game movements which can be extremely frustrating, to counter this look for superfast speeds like the ones offered in many BT broadband packages. The advised broadband speed for online gaming is 4 Megabits per second and this can double depending on the complexity of the game itself so look for deals that offer the best bang for your buck!

Download limit also affects gamers as this puts a cap on the amount of data you can upload and download. Many competitively priced packages provide unlimited downloads which is great for gamers that are constantly updating and downloading.

The amount of lag a broadband package entails is also an important point to consider, the technical term for this is ‘latency’ or ‘contention’ which is the time delay between sending and receiving data, which occurs constantly during game play between a console and server. Look for a contention ratio of 50 to 1 for optimum game playing.

Getting the best internet speed for your money – and taking advantage of the best broadband bundles is just one solution!

Making sure you have the best value broadband package is important to every householder especially in these difficult economic times where there is considerably less money to blow on the latest and greatest tech or services. But what can you do to ensure that your current connection is working as hard as it should be?

All householders can use an online test to identify the speed that they broadband is currently running at for browsing, downloading and streaming, but before you run this quick and easy test it is important to know how fast your broadband can go for your location. There is always an average speed so clarify this to ensure you have the right information when it comes to running your broadband speed test.

There are also ways that you can boost your broadband speed using your existing equipment. Keeping your router switched on at all times is advised, many householders switch their router off at night but this can dramatically reduce speed, which can take up to three days to return to normal. To get the best performance from your router keep it switched on at all times. The time of day you use the net is also a factor so consider this when you are looking to improve your broadband speed, many providers experience a slow-down between 5pm and 8pm.

Many broadband bundles provide a wireless service as well as the traditional wired connection but it is important to maintain a secure wireless network to improve broadband speed. An un-secured network can easily fall victim to poor signal. Ensure that your connection is fully secure before utilising your wireless service and profit from improved speed in the long-run.