What Internet Speed is Right for Me?
With everyone online more than ever and the number of connected devices in our homes growing quickly with everyone being at home more often, deciding what internet speed for you and your family is important. The demand for streaming, gaming and connected devices, and knowing what plan is right for you isn't an easy question to answer and many factors come into play. We all have been there when one second you can be enjoying blazing speeds on your laptop, phone or tablet, and other times, you wonder why your connection is so slow. Either way, MaxxSouth Broadband is here to help you find what speed is right for you.
Streaming and Gaming
For streaming it is recommended to have 25 Mbps to stream full HD content, but if you are wanting to connect several devices at once you may need higher speeds. If you're an avid gamer, playing online with friends might be one of the things you enjoy most, and having faster internet is really important for that. If you are the only one at home, a 25 Mbps internet plan is suggested for smooth gaming. On the other hand, speed isn’t the only thing that matters in gaming!
Know your speeds
Internet speeds at 100 Mbps are considered to be good for regular use, and can support 3-5 users. Speeds in the 200-300 Mbps range are considered to be able to handle common uses like streaming and video chat for 4-7 users at once. Speeds above 300 Mbps and up into the 1,000 Mbps are considered to be faster than average, and can support seven or more users. Factors like upload speeds should also be considered when choosing your internet speed, and you can also use speed tests to check your internet connection speeds.
- Download speed: how quickly your Internet connection can retrieve data from the Internet (web pages, video, cat photos, etc.)
- Upload speed: how quickly your Internet connection can send data from your devices up to the Internet (uploading video to YouTube, sending documents via email, etc.)
Ultimately, deciding on the internet speed you need isn't as simple as we think! You need to think about the number of devices that will connect to your network at the same time and exactly what you want to do with your connection. If it's just streaming and web surfing you're after, you likely won't need that much speed, but if you're looking to stream 4K video, play online games and connect multiple devices, you'll need more bandwidth and a higher speed!
