subject: How To Calculate Your Internet Bandwidth Requirements? [print this page] If you have internet service, you are probably aware already that there are different packages that you can get. Not only can you get bundled packages with many cable internet companies that include telephone service and cable television, but you can get packages that offer different internet download and upload speeds. There are many internet San Francisco companies that provide this service.
One of the factors that determine your internet speed and package is how much upload bandwidth that you have. For instance, if you are putting something on the internet, like pictures on Facebook or other data to an internet server, your maximum upload speed is what determines how fast you can upload things. With most internet connections, uploading photographs is very fast, unless they are extremely large, but you would have a much more difficult time uploading a video.
Your download speed is how fast you can get information from the internet. You notice this speed coming into effect when you get a program from the internet, from sites like Download.com or updates for your computer. If you download a lot of games, like from programs like Direct2Drive you want a fast download speed.
One thing that often puzzles people when they start looking into their download speeds is why they can't download at their maximum speed all the time. There are a couple of reasons for that. One reason may simply be that your computer is doing other stuff with the bandwidth that you have, and you can't get the full amount, like if you have another computer on your network. However, the main reason most of the time is that you can only download something as fast as the website or server you are getting it from is uploading it to you, no matter how fast your download speed.
In order to figure out how much bandwidth you actually need, one of the major considerations is how many people will be using your internet connection at the same time as you. If you are going to be the only one using it, and you don't need a lot of bandwidth to play games or watch a lot of streaming movies, then the lowest bandwidth package may work for you.
If you are planning on doing a lot of online gaming, or if you have a couple different people using your internet service at the same time, then you might want to think about upgrading to a larger package. Gaming especially can use a lot of bandwidth.
If you have several people using your internet at once, then you may need to upgrade to a package that is 20 or 30 mbps. You can find out how fast your internet currently is by asking your provider or by going to a site like Speedtest.net where they test bandwidth using a server near you.
Many internet San Francisco companies provide these kinds of speeds. You just have to look around for them.
