I have actually worked with some code that took in account all those aspects. The code was written in 2005.

While not a lot video games are open source. A lot of games do things like. Particularly FPS shooters do very similar things to select servers or game hosts. Mainly in trying to find the lowest ping to ensure responsive game-play.

Let's break the claims down. * "computer-implemented method for testing network connectivity for a network device, comprising: connecting to a network provider;"

  This is any computer connected to a network that tests connectivity.

* "pinging a first server with the aid of the network provider by directing a data packet to a static interne protocol (IP) address of said first server;"

  This is any application testing ping time/rate.

* "pinging a second server with the aid of the network provider by directing a data packet to a dedicated uniform resource locator (URL) of said second server;"

  Any application that makes a HTTP request to check that a URL is online.

* "determining whether to maintain connectivity to said network provider based on whether a response was received by said network device from said first server and/or whether a response was received by said network device from said second server;"

  If the tests failed or are high latency try a different connection or probably choose a closer device.

* "and connecting to another network provider based on at least one criterion selected from the group consisting of: bandwidth of the another network provider, cost to maintain connectivity to the another network provider, cost to transmit information with the aid of the another network provider, a download rate of the another network provider, and an upload rate of the another network provider."

  Choose the best connection from a list of connections/devices based off your tests and any prior knowledge like geography.