Okay, So What’s a Good Internet Speed for My Home Connection?

Okay, So What’s a Good Internet Speed for My Home Connection?

When shopping for a home internet connection, there are many things that you need to consider; price, bandwidth, data cap, uptime, downtime and, of course, speed.


When shopping for a home internet connection, there are many things that you need to consider; price, bandwidth, data cap, uptime, downtime and, of course, speed.

In fact, speed is arguably the most important consideration for most homeowners when choosing an internet service provider (ISP).

No one likes a slow internet connection; a buffering stream or a lagging online gaming session.

So, what minimum speed should you be aiming for when shopping for a home internet connection?

How Internet Speed is Measured

Okay, let’s first understand how internet speed is measured.

Internet speed is measured in two different metrics:

·         Upload speed

·         Download speed

Upload speed refers to how quickly an internet connection can send data from your devices to the internet. While download speed refers to how fast an internet connection can retrieve data from the internet and distribute it to your devices.

In an average home setting, the download speed of an internet connection is of much more importance than its upload speed.

Why?

Because most home internet users very rarely have large files to share on the internet. So, even if the connection’s upload speed is slow, it doesn’t much matter to them. What they really need is a connection that can provide them fast download speed so that they can enjoy seamless browsing, streaming and online gaming experience.

Therefore, from here on in, we’ll also be focusing only on download speed for the rest of this article.

Speedometer: Where Do Your Internet Speed Needs Rank?

How much internet speed you need for your home internet connection will depend on three factors:

1)      Your everyday online activities

2)      The number of people in your home who would use the internet

3)      The maximum number of devices that would be connected to the internet at the same time

Factors “2” and “3” are somewhat inter-related. The more people you have at your home using the internet, the more devices will be connected to it.

Specifying minimum internet speed requirements for different everyday online activities:

·         1-5 Mbps for checking email and browsing the web

·         15-25 Mbps for streaming HD content

·         40-100 Mbps for streaming 4K content and playing online games

·         200 Mbps for streaming 4K content, playing online games and downloading large files

The above-listed speed specifications are decent benchmarks for average families of three persons. Increasing the number of internet users (and internet devices) should add to the speed needs.

A Good Rule to Follow

When it comes to deciding the minimum speed for your home internet connection, a good rule to follow is to start with at least 25 Mbps. You can then upscale from there, depending on the number of users and type of use i.e. if you play games online.

Shopping for a Home Internet Connection?

KonectEaze has a complete list of the best ISPs (AT&T, HughesNet, Viasat and numerous others) and home internet package plans sorted by zip code. If you need, our team can also guide you in choosing the right speed package for your home internet needs.

Experience the revolution in internet shopping with KonectEaze today!