what kind of service is used for online gaming & downloading steam games etc?

[northerngames]

what kind of service is used for online gaming & downloading steam games etc?

I have never played an online game to date and never bothered with steam or any of the virtual games that dont exsist either.

I am out in the sticks and only had aol but now use a cell phone and tether it for internet use but I am limited on data and downloading games or playing online takes way to much out of it to even bother and it cost way to much money to even bother with.

so I now wonder how people even play on xbox live or download huge games files and then play them online without spending hundreds a month on these invisable games.

what service are you guys using becuase I have not found anything worth the bother to be honost.

this whole data charge fad is a total joke/scam to me too.

heck 12 years ago I had comcast for a 1/3 of the price I pay for my 8 gigs and it was unlimited and extremely fast but there not around here for miles and miles where I live now so what other options do I have that is reasonable price wise?

[Generic Eric]

what other options do I have that is reasonable price wise?

Location,  location,  location.

No silver bullet, no magic weight loss pill.  It all depends on the economics of your area.  The is only one land based business in my area.  The rest are satellite or cellular service. 

You should research municipal Internet.  It is our only hope.

[knave]

It could be that you are out of luck as far as cheap internet goes...but there is hope:

1. Sounds like you are too far out to get DSL...but call around ans ask about Wireless DSL. it uses the cell towers to beam high/hi-ish speed internet to your house. My mom lives in the middle of nowhere ans had this type of service for many years. It worked great but the company lost the lease on the specific tower we used...so it may or may not be an option. Price was similar to traditional DSL.

2. Also sounds like you are too far out to get Cable internet...so the other option is Satellite...hughesnet or blue-something are the same company depending on your area. If you really want internet I hear this works fine...and is only a bit more expensive in the long run...but I was all set to sign my mom up but the high installation fees killed it for me.

3. I actually think you already use your best option. Cell based hotspots are versatile and can be had for decent prices. You say you have 8 gigs of data...I think you could play most of the steam titles for a long time on that. I'm a casual gamer and I don't think I use that much in game traffic. What you can do depending on your set-up is bring your PC/laptop to a hotspot and download all the large files you need...games etc. and then take it home and play...even if you didn't there are lots of gamed where the download is small...I don't think the traffic is going to quickly eat trough 8 gigs...but you might have to watch less movies...
Really test it out. My mom lives in a cell dead zone...so I would jump at the chance to get her a hotspot. And lastly...sprint still has unlimited data...so get a sprint hotspot and you are good to go.

[Slippyblade]

I can't imagine...  I average about 250-275 gigs a month on my bandwidth.  Thank the powers that be for unlimited.  Love my cable...

[Louis Tully]

.

[Malenko]

what kind of service is used for online gaming & downloading steam games etc?

take your laptop to work and download the games there, then play steam in offline mode when you get home.

[ark_ader]

what kind of service is used for online gaming & downloading steam games etc?

take your laptop to work and download the games there, then play steam in offline mode when you get home.

That's nice way to get yourself fired. 

Look for fibre.  100mb up and down doesn't sound too bad does it?

If you have DSL or Cable, I do all my downloading off peak.  I know I am not capped or throttled but the contention is less in the wee hours.

[Slippyblade]

I can't imagine...  I average about 250-275 gigs a month on my bandwidth.  Thank the powers that be for unlimited.  Love my cable...

Daaaaaamn! Wow, that's crazy.

Not really.  My entire household is via internet.  We use VOIP for our phone service.  Netflix/Hulu/Youtube for television.  Pandora and streaming channels for radio.  Literally everything is via IP.

[pbj]

Just admit you downloaded the latest version of CoinOps.

take your laptop to work and download the games there, then play steam in offline mode when you get home.

We can't all be "director of IT" or "network engineers."

[Malenko]

We can't all be "director of IT" or "network engineers."

Most places have guest wifi, I should have been more specific.  Fine fine instead of "work" go to Starbucks and hop on their internet.  I'm not a network engineer anymore, I'm the Senior System Admin and IT Director, its good to have a skill set.

[northerngames]

I can't imagine...  I average about 250-275 gigs a month on my bandwidth.  Thank the powers that be for unlimited.  Love my cable...

what service you have? 

[Slippyblade]

I can't imagine...  I average about 250-275 gigs a month on my bandwidth.  Thank the powers that be for unlimited.  Love my cable...

what service you have? 

Cox Cable in Phoenix, Az.  I've been pretty happy with them as a carrier. 

[northerngames]

and that cost how much if you dont mind.

just curious becuase like I said prior this data fad sucks.

alot of the companies when it all got going were unlimited data for the most part but now it is the other way around and total crap to me.

I have to pay $15 for each gig over and so apply that math of your monthly usage and 

it cost me about 160 a month for the phone with 8 gigs.

[Malenko]

I have comcast , they tried to impose 250 GB limits, like if you went over the limit 3 months in a row you got your service cancelled, but a couple of lawsuits (and out of court settlements) later and they stopped that song and dance. Im on 25/10 service at like 50 something a month as part of a package. they offer 100/40 service here but I dont think its worth the cash.

[Slippyblade]

and that cost how much if you dont mind.

Oh, I pay about $60 a month, but like I said it's cable internet, not cellular.  We pay a bit higher than the basic level service for extra speed because of the sheer amount of stuff we use the internet for.  I can make a phone call, DL a torrent, and stream netflix in the living room while the kid is watching YouTube all at the same time.  Using a VOIP phone service means I'm not paying $40/month for phone (I pay about $35 a year) or $60-70/month for cable ($9/month for Netflix and free hulu/youtube/website).

[ark_ader]

and that cost how much if you dont mind.

Oh, I pay about $60 a month, but like I said it's cable internet, not cellular.  We pay a bit higher than the basic level service for extra speed because of the sheer amount of stuff we use the internet for.  I can make a phone call, DL a torrent, and stream netflix in the living room while the kid is watching YouTube all at the same time.  Using a VOIP phone service means I'm not paying $40/month for phone (I pay about $35 a year) or $60-70/month for cable ($9/month for Netflix and free hulu/youtube/website).

For 30 bucks more you can get HBO & Starz 25mb internet and a free phone/modem.  Cox is pretty good, but the contention levels suck where I am.

[northerngames]

I am in the stick and like 15 miles from cable so its not looking good for me still 

[ark_ader]

I am in the stick and like 15 miles from cable so its not looking good for me still 

You could go for dual ISDN.  Or Satellite with their lag and crappy 15gb limits.   

[SavannahLion]

We can't all be "director of IT" or "network engineers."

Most places have guest wifi, I should have been more specific.  Fine fine instead of "work" go to Starbucks and hop on their internet.  I'm not a network engineer anymore, I'm the Senior System Admin and IT Director, its good to have a skill set.

A lot of places are getting wise to that.

[ark_ader]

what kind of service is used for online gaming & downloading steam games etc?/quote]


The Internet?