Which broadband speed do I need?
Which speed should I choose and what are those numbers? 512 Kbps?
To make it simple those numbers represent the speed of your connection, the speed of the data that is being transferred. Similar to the speed of a car that is measured in kmph (km p/h) or mph (miles p/h), connection speed is measured in Kbps or Mbps (Kilobits per second and Megabits per second). 1024 Kilobits = 1 Megabit, meaning that 512Kbps is the half of one Mbps. What are Megabits? Megabit Is 1/8th of Megabyte (MB), a computer term that you probably know. The reason for differences in measurements of speed and data will be explained later on in this guide.
Most commercial broadband connections offer wide range of packages going from 256 Kbps to 8 Mbps. Consult the following chart that is designed to illustrate the difference between various speeds of broadband Internet.
| Internet speed | Time to open an average web page | Time to Download a song in mp3 format | Video stream quality |
|---|---|---|---|
| 56 Kbps | 16 sec | 13 min | none |
| 256 Kbps | 3 sec | 3 min | Low Quality |
| 512 Kbps | 1.6 sec | 1 min 30 sec | Low Quality |
| 1 Mbps | 0.8 sec | 41 sec | Low Quality |
| 2 Mbps | 0.4 sec | 20 sec | Medium Quality |
| 4 Mbps | 0.1 sec | 9.5 sec | Medium Quality |
| 6 Mbps | Instantaneous | 6 sec | TV Quality |
| 8 Mbps | Instantaneous | 5 sec | TV Quality |
From the chart you can clearly see the difference between various speeds of broadband connection and how they compare to dial up. Which of these you should choose is based on your desires, needs and your wallet. Also keep in mind that ISP’s always offer you two types of packages:
- Flat rate connection
- Allowance ( Limited download)
A flat rate connection will give you unlimited download with a flat fee that you will pay on a monthly basis. This way you have absolutely no limitations on what you do and how often you do it. These types of deals are bit more expensive then allowance deals.
Allowance deals will give you a limited download going from 1 GB to 30 GB with most ISP’s on the market. Allowances may vary based on the speed that you are paying for; naturally if you get a higher speed you allowance will be larger. How does this allowance deal work? Basically anything you do online like visiting websites, reading e-mails, watching videos, etc. will cause you to download data. The amount of data is limited to a certain number. Once you reach that particular number you can purchase more or you will get charged extra at the end of the month depending if you have a pre paid or post paid deal. Opening web pages and sending e-mails are activities that use up a very little portion of any allowance, so if these are your main Internet requirements then you will not need a large allowance. Online gaming, downloading or watching movies, downloading songs and programs is what can use up your allowance fast. For those that download programs, movies and music occasionally and hardly play games online I recommend a larger allowance deal of somewhat above 10-15 GB per month. Internet users that tend to download large amounts of videos, music, programs and are online gamers fall into a third category that should definitely go for the flat rate deal. This way you can get the right deal for you without paying for something that you do not need.
I would also like to illustrate what you will get with each size of allowance - the amount of data that you can download.
| Usage allowance (GB) | Number of web pages opened assuming that 1 page is around 100KB | Number of mp3 song downloaded assuming that 1 song is 5MB |
|---|---|---|
| 1 GB | 10.500 | 205 (about 20 albums) |
| 2 GB | 21.000 | 205 (about 20 albums) |
| 6 GB | 63.000 | 1230 (about 120 albums) |
| 10 GB | 105.000 | 2050 (about 200 albums) |
| 15 GB | 157.500 | 3075 (about 300 albums) |
| 30 GB | 315.000 | 6150 (about 600 albums) |
| Unlimited (flat rate) | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Next thing that you should decide on is your Internet speed. Starter packages with speeds around 256Kbps and 512 Kbps are recommended for people that mainly focus on browsing web pages, e-mailing and rarely watch online videos. With this type of needs we also suggest an allowance deal going from 2 GB to 6 GB.
Best all around choice are probably the broadband speeds of 1 Mbps and 2 Mbps, these numbers will satisfy 70% of the users and are most frequently used packages. More avid Internet users are usually most comfortable with larger allowance deals going over 10-15GB or flat rate deals. Generally broadband deals for 1 Mbps and 2 Mbps speeds have best quality/cost ratio for most users.
4, 6 or 8 Mbps speeds are recommended to High-end and Shared users with flat rate deal. These packages will be more expensive. Shared users are people who will share their connection with others, i.e. if you have more than one PC in your home and you know that they will be using Internet simultaneously. High end users are people who have a high demand from Internet, people who want to watch high quality streamed videos, download large amounts of data or are in need of very fast Internet connection due to their line of work.
General tips when deciding on IS and broadband Internet package:
- Avoid allowance deals that are around 1 GB or lower.
- The faster your Internet is, the faster your allowance will be used up.
- Reconsider what you expect from your Internet connection before you choose a package in order to ensure you get the right one
- Consider several different ISP’s that offer services in your area, talk to your friends and family members and ask them which one they have and what their experiences are with their current and past ISP’s.