How much Internet speed do I need for a good online experience? If you’re looking to improve your overall online experience, your Internet speed is one of the most important things to consider. But understanding how much speed you need for your specific online activities can be confusing. The information below along with this online tool can help you decide.
How is Internet speed measured?
Let’s start with the concept of speed, or bandwidth, as it’s sometimes called. Measured in Megabits per second (Mbps), your Internet speed is the amount of data that can be transferred every second over your Internet connection. Your speed determines the type of activities that you can do online and how quickly you can do them.
A connection speed of 1 Mbps, for example, allows you to browse web pages easily. However, it’s not fast enough for you to stream HD videos on Netflix. According to Netflix, that requires a minimum connection speed of 5 Mbps. If you tried to stream HD video at 1 Mbps, your video would be poor quality and would likely stutter or pause altogether.
On the other hand, a speed of 500 Mbps—five hundred times faster than 1 Mbps—is blazing fast. That speed allows you to do almost anything, including letting multiple family members stream 4K video simultaneously.
Download versus upload speeds
When you’re choosing an Internet package, there are two speeds you need to consider: the download speed and the upload speed. Alliance’s Internet packages are symmetrical, which means the download speed is just as fast as the upload speed.
The download speed is the speed at which data travels from a remote location on the Internet to your Internet-connected device. For example, if you are watching a video on YouTube, the download speed is the rate at which the information in the video stream travels from the YouTube server to your computer or phone.
Most of our online activities—like web surfing, video streaming, and application downloads—involve downloading a lot of data. And for certain activities, like online gaming and video streaming, the faster you can download data, the better.
The upload speed, on the other hand, is the speed at which data travels from your connected device to a remote location on the Internet. For example, if you post a video or a photo onto a social media site like Facebook, the upload speed is the rate at which the information travels from your device to the Facebook server.
Fast upload speeds may be important for you, depending on the type of activities you plan to do online. As an example, an amateur photographer who regularly uploads high-resolution photos to a photo sharing site may want a faster upload speed. Or, if you work from home, or operate a small business from home, you might also require a faster upload speed.
The bottom line
The speed of your Internet connection has a big impact on the quality of your online experience. So when you’re choosing an Internet package, make sure both the download and upload speeds are fast enough for the kind of activities you plan to do online.
Alliance recently made it easier for you to choose an Internet package that fits your lifestyle. We lowered the prices of our fastest Internet speeds. Now you can upgrade your Internet speed for only $10 more per month.
Not sure how much speed you need? Click the button below for an online tool that can help you decide.
