Knowing how to find an internet provider for your household is far from an exact science, but there’s one important rule of thumb to keep in mind when choosing an ISP. Homes and families come in all shapes and sizes—and so should the internet plans your internet provider offers.
In this blog, we’ll show you how internet providers can offer different types of plans for your internet based on what your household needs—instead of one-size-fits-all home internet plans that either give you more than you need or less than you want—and what you need to know to make the right decision.
What to Look For in Residential Internet Plans
The two most important questions to keep in your mind when choosing an ISP are 1) How many people are using your internet and 2) What are they using the internet for?
Is it just you and your spouse? Do you have one or two children? Or do you live in a multi-generational household with four kids and their grandparents? Are your children in school? Do you or your spouse work from home? Do you rely on Netflix or Amazon to keep up with your favorite shows and watch your favorite movies as a family? Are there any gamers in the house?
There are many ways to use the internet—on your phones or tablets, on desktop or laptop PCs, or through smart TVs and game consoles. If you only use the internet for browsing, email, or social media, you don’t need especially fast internet—but if your hobbies include online gaming or you enjoy watching movies in HD and 4K, you’ll need a faster internet to prevent lag or buffering issues getting in the way of your fun.
Pay attention to the download and upload speeds a plan offers and how many simultaneous devices it can support. A great ISP that offers a wide range of residential internet plans should also do the work for you and offer some information about the online activities each plan can comfortably support.
How to Pick an Internet Provider’s Residential Plans—A Three-Step Guide
So, with these first principles in mind, how do you make a choice between different types of plans for your internet? Just follow these steps:
Step 1: Assess Your Household Size and Internet Usage
A small household that mainly uses the internet for email, browsing, or social media doesn’t need especially high-speed internet—no more than 50 Mbps or so. On the other hand, a larger household with more users might need an internet plan that offers 100 to 200 Mbps to handle HD video streaming or lag-free online gaming. If your household is 5 to 6 people and you use a lot of internet-connected devices, you may need speeds in excess of 400 Mbps.
Step 2: Identify Your Internet Activities
How does your household use the internet? Different devices and activities consume different amounts of bandwidth. Try tallying up how you use your internet:
- Basic browsing and email: 5-10 Mbps per device
- Streaming Netflix or YouTube: 5-25 Mbps per device
- Online gaming: 10-25 Mbps per device
- Videoconferencing over Zoom or Teams: 3-10 Mbps per connection
- Smart home and IoT devices: 1-5 Mbps per active device
This guide can help you add up how much bandwidth your household needs to use your internet comfortably. Think about your plans for the future, too: if you have a young adult kid coming home from college for the summer, or if you plan on adding new smart devices to your home soon, you’ll need to make sure your internet plan can keep up.
Step 3: Find Providers in Your Area
When choosing an ISP, make sure to check that they provide internet service to your community. Most ISPs should provide this information on their website.
Make sure to compare the providers available to you by features such as:
- Speeds offered
- Cost and promotional pricing
- Whether users pay for equipment or installation
- Data caps and overage charges
- Contract requirements
- Customer support and service options
Keep these simple steps in mind and you’ll know how to pick an internet provider that fits your household’s needs and budget!
TISD: Helping Texas Families Get Connected
Households outside of urban or suburban areas often have very few options of internet providers to choose from, but choosing an ISP can be daunting, even if you aren’t spoiled for choice. When ISPs provide different types of plans for your internet based on the size of your household or specific needs, the plan you pick can leave you overpaying for features you don’t need or with a plan that doesn’t offer the speed or reliability you need.
Fortunately, TISD is here to help you make your choice simpler. If you need help finding the right internet plan for your family, just call us up—and our friendly Customer Care team will point you in the right direction. With our different types of internet plans designed for families of all kinds, starting as low as $54.99 per month, it’s easy to find the one that fits your household best. Contact TISD today to get set up.