What could be better than sitting on the sofa, choosing your Ultra HD movie and having it downloaded faster than you could make a cup of tea? With a 10Mbps connection, the same download would take over 2 hours. The same can be said for Ultra HD movies. So, if you don’t want your download to take all day, you’ll need a faster connection. These files can be pretty hefty, averaging between 30 and 50GB. If you’re a gamer, you’ll want to download games to your console. Downloading a simple song or photo can easily be done on a standard connection, however larger files can take a while.
What is a good speed for download?ĭownloading items for use offline is another ballpark. If your family are heavy users, and you’re likely to be gaming, streaming, downloading and video calling all at once, we recommend 250Mbps and upwards.įor the ultimate broadband experience, we recommend 900Mbps. Ultra HD requires at least 25Mbps, so if more than one of you is online, you’ll want a bigger bandwidth of up to 100Mbps. What is a good broadband download speed Mbps?Ī download speed of at least 25Mbps is considered good for most internet activities, however we recommend having at least 40Mbps if you have multiple users in the house.įor those who like to stream in Ultra HD, we’d recommend a speedier connection. However, there are still some day-to-day activities that require a decent upload speed such as video calls, online gaming and of course, uploading all your favourite photos to social media. Sure, we do tend to download more than we upload, so having a faster download speed is understandably the priority. What is the difference?ĭownload speed is how fast you can retrieve data from the internet, whereas upload speed is the speed you can send data from your devices to the internet. What download speeds do I need? Download vs Upload speed. Although bandwidth is often used to refer to your internet speeds, there is a slight difference, internet speeds are the rate of data transfer, while your bandwidth is how much your connection can handle at a given time. Internet bandwidth is the maximum amount of data that can be transferred across your connection at a given time. A megabyte is actually 8 megabits, so to download a 1MB file on a 1Mbps connection would take 8 seconds. How is broadband speed measured?īroadband speed is measured in bits, with most broadband packages measured in megabits-per-second (Mbps).Īn important distinction to make is megabits(Mb) vs megabytes(MB).įiles are normally described in megabytes.
If you’re not getting fast enough speeds, find out how to improve broadband speed: 5 tips for streaming your TV.
If you want to know exactly what download speeds you need for different activities, look at how much broadband do I need? What is a good broadband speed for streaming Video?ģMbps is the minimum broadband speed required to stream on most platforms in standard definition (SD), 5Mbps is the minimum to stream in HD, while 25Mbps is the minimum download speed required for Ultra HD. What can I do with my internet speed?ġ0Mbps – One person: surfing the web, social media, online shopping, SD streamingĤ0Mbps – HD streaming, online gaming, multiple people: surfing the web, social media, online shoppingġ00Mbps – Ultra HD streaming, HD streaming for multiple people, online gaming for multiple peopleĢ50Mbps – Multiple heavy users, ultrafast downloads, Ultra HD on multiple devicesĩ00Mbps – Simultaneous UHD streaming, online gaming and large downloads for almost any number of devices
For example, you’ll want to use your HD TV to stream Netflix in HD, which requires at least 5Mbps (Ultra HD requires 25Mbps).Īt the same time, someone else in the house may be online gaming, or watching a YouTube video, while another person is on a video call with their friends.Īll these activities chip away at your bandwidth, and having only 10Mbps between you won’t get you very far – that’s why our packages start at a minimum of 40Mbps. What is a good download speed?Īt Airband, we understand that we rely the internet for a lot more than basic activities. This will allow you to do the most basic online tasks such as surfing the web, email, social media, online shopping and streaming in standard definition.īut what happens if multiple people in the house are using the internet at once? That’s where things get more complicated. What is the minimum broadband speed I need?Īs a bare minimum, we recommend that you have a download speed of at least 10Mbps. In this blog post, we’ll help you work out if you’re a light, medium, or heavy user and what that could mean for your connection needs. But have you ever wondered what download speed you really need?Ī good download speed is not the same for everyone, as we all use the internet for an array of different uses. Let’s face it, an internet connection is a must for most people, and it needs to be a reliable one at that.