How Fast Does My Internet Need to Be? 5 Common Misconceptions of Internet Speeds
The internet changed life as we know it. As the years pass, our need for speed is still going strong. If you’re in the middle of switching service providers and you’re wondering, “how fast does my internet need to be?”, you’re not alone.
Many folks end up confused about internet jargon, and when determining the internet speed needed for streaming or downloading, it’s easy to become overwhelmed. Internet speeds vary for different uses.
If you’re more interested in reading on your tablet through an application that requires wifi, you’re the type of person who only needs around 1Mbps, or, megabits per second.
But what if you utilize more speed than 1Mbps?
1. How Much Bandwidth You Need
Unless you live with 10 people who all have to be watching Netflix at once on different devices, your bandwidth speed doesn’t have to be the highest one. A range of 35-50 Mbps can cover an entire family of five or six folks.
Someone playing games, someone watching a movie, someone updating their computer. All of these activities can be achieved through that metric without anyone noticing any latency.
2. More Bandwidth Doesn’t Mean More Speed
Bandwidth is the juice that the internet connection requires to meet your needs quicker and more efficiently. The more bandwidth you have, the less interrupted internet service you’ll experience. No buffering while streaming, no minimal frames per second while gaming.
How much bandwidth you’ll need is determined by what you use the internet for. If you’re a person in your household who works from home, one person who games a lot, and another person downloading lectures for school- you’re going to need enough bandwidth to make all of that happen.
Bandwidth is how much you can receive, and latency is the speed of your internet connection, or how long it takes to get there.
3. My Computer’s Age Doesn’t Matter
Your computer’s dated operating system and video card can create lags, long loading times and ruin the quality experience of streaming movies, music or web browsing.
Even if you’re the type of person who only uses the internet to get those never expiring Bed, Bath & Beyond coupons- a computer that has a modern infrastructure can make or break your internet speed. What’s the point of paying for nice rims when your tires are bald?
4. Testing My Internet Speed Measures My Connection Speed
When you test your internet speed, you are testing the speed of the page you’re currently visiting. Internet speed works a lot like heavy traffic. If a billion people are trying to check their savings account on the same website at the same time, it’s going to take a little bit longer to get there.
Keep in mind that your internet speed test could vary depending on what site you’re visiting.
5. A Router Is Useless Since I Have No Home Network
A new router could be the biggest barrier between you and a speed upgrade. Routers provide farther and more reliable connection in varying areas of the space you occupy.
A router provides firewall protection that stops unwanted traffic to your computer before you have a chance to see it happen.
How Fast Does My Internet Speed Need to Be?
In truth, the internet speed you’re looking for depends on your everyday uses. Use this article for reference if you’re looking at bandwidth or router upgrades and talk with your service provider about what works best for your home.
Contact us to find out more about choosing the right internet speed for you or your family.
