Question on Dedicated Internet Line

[shadowfox03]

I just bought a house and I called Frontier internet provider. They said they are the only ones that service the area, which I find surprising since it's a city of 40,000... anyway, I told them what I wanted to spend around and they gave me one option 6mbps, which I about died on how slow. I am living by myself with no roommate but I do game online quite a bit and stream 4k. She assured me it was a "dedicated line" not a shared line. Can someone give me some more detail on the "dedicated line" and will that be sufficient for 4k streaming and gaming online?

Just sounded extremely low to me... any help would be great.

 

[boosted1g]

6mbps is not sufficient for HD, let alone 4k.

If you only wanted to spend $20-30 that might only get you the very base model package.

Most small cities like that typically have internet from a DSL (phone) and from a cable provider. Cable is better.

 

[cryoburner]

Do you really think they would tell you if a competing Internet provider is available in your area? : D

There are some sites that will tell you about the various Internet service plans available in your area by entering your zip code. Here's one I found from just a quick search that seemed to provide an accurate list for where I am...

https://internetprovidersbyzip.com

Something like satellite will be unsuitable for gaming, but you will likely have at least a couple DSL and cable providers in your area.

 

[Solandri]

In my experience, Frontier sucks. Their service and support (both customer and technical) leaves a lot to be desired.

6 Mbps is typical of DSL on longer runs of older phone line. DSL maxes out at 24 Mbps, with about 16 Mbps being a more common max. Most areas have both DSL and cable Internet as options. Have you tried asking around to find out who the local cable TV company is? Cable Internet can easily surpass 100 Mbps. DSL is usually dedicated. Cable is shared, but they subnet their networks so you're only sharing bandwidth with a dozen or two of your neighbors.

Another option in remote areas may be wireless Internet. There are two types - cellular (which is expensive, typically slower than DSL, and has a low bandwidth cap), and WiFi (which is slow and often unreliable in my experience). If you happen to live nearby a McDonalds or Starbucks or other store which offers free WiFi, you may be able to leech off it with a small directional antenna.

If DSL is the only service at your location, if you're willing to pay you can ask for business service with bonded lines. Most homes are wired with two phone lines. You can run separate DSL over both lines, and bonding them makes them work as if they're a single Internet connection. There are companies which can run a dedicated line (usually fiber optic) to your house (just tell them you run a home business), but these tend to be ridiculously expensive. Like several hundred to several thousand dollars a month.

Satellite typically has unacceptable lag for gaming. It can be OK for web browsing, but usually requires a DSL connection for upstream data (you cannot transmit data back up to the satellite). It also usually comes with cellular-like bandwidth caps.