When it comes down to the nitty gritty of choosing your high-speed Internet service provider, speed is likely one of your biggest concerns. Higher download speeds tend to translate into faster file downloads and lower ping in online applications such as games. While not the end-all-be-all, try comparing two ISPs, such as Windstream and WildBlue, by their available speeds.
WildBlue Internet Services
WildBlue offers three high-speed Internet packages. These packages are tiered in order of price and speed. The Value Package is the first tier. As of the time of publication, this package provides download speeds of 512 Kbps and upload speeds of 128 Kbps for $49.95 per month. The Select Package is WildBlue's second tier offering. This package provides download speeds of 1 Mbps and upload speeds of 200 Kbps for $69.95. The Pro Package is the third and final package. It offers downloads speeds of 1.5 Mbps and upload speeds of 256 Kbps for $79.95.
Windstream Internet Services
Windstream also offers customers three tiers of high-speed Internet service. Windstream's high-speed Internet service is Greenstreak. Like WildBlue, these packages are ordered by price and speed. Windstream does not provide upload speed data for these plans. As of the time of publication, its first tier offers 3 Mbps at $39.99 per month. The second tier offers 6 Mbps at 44.99 per month. The third and final Internet access offering is their 12 Mbps connection at $49.99 per month.
Comparisons
After looking at the available packages, you will notice there are some large differences between the two providers. In all three offered tiers, Windstream beats WildBlue. Wildblue's first tier runs at 512 Kbps down, where Windstream's runs at 3 Mbps, roughly six times faster. Further comparison shows Windstream's 6 Mbps second tier is also six times faster than Wildblue's 1 Mbps tier two offering. Windstream's third tier offering of 12 Mbps is a full eight times faster than Wildblue's 1.5 Mbps.
Conclusions
As far as raw available speed is concerned, Windstream defeats WildBlue by a large margin in every category. With a minimum of three times and a maximum of eight times WildBlue's available speeds, if your primary concern when choosing an Internet provider is download speed, then Windstream appears to be the better choice. However, raw speed alone should not be your only barometer of a good ISP. Take other considerations, such as available bandwidth, security features, reliability and price promotions into account as well. Also, keep in mind that pricing and speed may fluctuate based on your area.
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privacy & security protectedReferences
- WildBlue: Availability & Offers
- Windstream: Residential Broadband: High-speed Home Internet
