What are my options for improving internet in a rural area?

You don’t necessarily need Ethernet ports built into the walls. A temporary cable from the router to your gaming setup, a mesh Wi-Fi system, or possibly MoCA or powerline adapters could avoid major construction. Powerline adapters are hit-or-miss depending on the home’s wiring, so test them or buy from somewhere with a good return policy.

Satellite service such as Starlink may be worth checking, especially if your current provider is the only wired option. You’ll need a clear view of the sky, and it can still have occasional outages or higher latency than cable or fiber, but it may be a major improvement over an unreliable rural connection.

Look around for a WISP, or wireless internet service provider. They use a radio link from a nearby tower, hill, water tower, or other elevated location to reach homes that do not have cable or fiber. Availability depends heavily on line of sight, but a local provider might serve your area even if the major companies do not.

First figure out whether the bad performance is coming from the ISP or from Wi-Fi inside the house. Try connecting a computer or console directly to a LAN port on the router with a long Ethernet cable, even temporarily. If that fixes gaming and latency, your internet service may be fine and you need better Wi-Fi coverage or a wired connection. If it is still bad and the connection drops, the ISP or outside line is the more likely problem.