subject: I Feel The Need For Broadband Speed [print this page] Broadband speed can greatly affect your Internet browsing experience, but very few people consider speed by the raw numbers when they choose a broadband plan. There is no exact speed that you need or should have, but you can get a rough estimate of what kinds of speeds you want based on what kinds of activities you do online most often. Streaming video requires considerably higher speeds than basic email, for instance.
Let's take a look at broadband speeds and how they affect your browsing experience.
Broadband speeds are typically measured in some form of bits per second - usually megabits per second, occasionally gigabits per second. You have probably heard the term "byte", "megabyte", and "gigabyte" used to describe file size. A byte is a standard block of 8 bits. If you had a 1 MBPS (megabit per second) data transfer rate, it would take you eight seconds to download a 1 MB file.
Doing some rough math is unfortunately necessary to determine the speed you will want. Email and web surfing are considered to be the most basic level of Internet access. Because these activities mostly use text, email and web pages can be downloaded very quickly, even over slow lines. Practically any broadband connection will be fast enough for these types of activities.
The next tier of Internet speed is for people who want to do some "heavier" activities, such as photo transfers, or light gaming. Photos can be large files so you'll want higher broadband speeds.
Streaming video is requires the most bandwidth out of any activity.
The bandwidth you need depends on what kind of video you want to stream. Short videos where you don't mind waiting a few seconds for it to buffer don't require much more than you would want for photos, but streaming full-length movies requires a bit more broadband speed, and high definition requires even more. You'll probably want a speed of about 20 Mbps to stream video, although that depends on the resolution and encoding of the video.
One other thing to consider is upload speed.
Typically broadband download speeds are much faster than upload speeds. This isn't a problem if you're just browsing the Internet, but if you want to upload large photos or videos, this can quickly become a problem. If you do plan on needing fast upload speeds, make sure to keep that in mind when choosing a broadband plan.
Also, be aware that many companies offer "up to" speeds, which are not actually the broadband speeds you'll get for long periods of time.
Many companies offer different tiers of Internet service, and have guidelines on which ones are appropriate for what activities. This can be a good way to get the Internet speed you need and to make sure that you won't be stuck with too little bandwidth.
