When it comes to internet connections, everyone prefers it to be fast as lightning. Everyone wants fast internet connections. We all hate it when our Netflix and chill sessions and YouTube streaming parties are interrupted by that pesky buffer icon thanks to slow internet.
But believe it or not, deciding on what the ideal internet speed is for you is a difficult task. While you want to get the fastest connection available, the prices can go way up if you’re not careful. So when you’re signing up for an internet plan at home, you will surely find yourself in a dilemma.
Deciding the right internet connection for you is not as difficult as people thought it to be. It just pays to understand the differences between various speed or bandwidth to identify one after the other. It helps you give some sense into what plan or internet connection you should use.
Understanding Bandwidths
By definition, bandwidths are your download and data allocation’s maximum capacity from the internet to the device you’re using. Your bandwidth indicates how much data you can pull in a certain amount of time. Bandwidths are measured in megabytes per second or Mbps.
When your internet service provider gives you a specific amount of internet speed, it doesn’t immediately tell you how fast your internet is. Instead, it lets you determine how much data will your service provider gives you. But the actual speed will vary depending on how much devices are using the same connection at once.
To put things into perspective, a 6 mb mp3 file will likely download for about 48 seconds on a 1mbps connection. But if your connection is much higher, it can finish downloading faster. It’s much like a freeway. The wider the freeway is, the better the traffic will be.
10 Mbps vs. 30 Mbps
In order to fit the needs of different types of internet consumers, internet service providers provide internet plans that offer many options to choose from. Each internet speed allocation will determine your internet connection’s productivity.
However, the most common bandwidth choice among a majority of customers are the 10 Mbps and 30 Mbps internet speed. If you want to know which one is the perfect fit that will meet your daily internet usage, it’s crucial that you know the difference between a 10 Mbps connection over a 30 Mbps one.
When you’re using a 10 Mbps internet speed, it occasionally provides a good quality streaming experience in moderate high-definition with a few connected devices using the internet at once. It gives a good online gaming and downloading experience. However, you might experience slower connection if you connect more devices along the way.
A 30 Mbps connection on the other gives a smooth streaming experience in very high-definition with lesser to no buffering experience. Online gaming and downloading with many devices at once is a great experience, too. But just like other internet connections, if you’re thinking about adding more devices for hardcore usage, you might need a higher connection.
Deciding Which One Is Best For You
When you’re thinking about applying for an internet connection, there are a few factors you need to consider when deciding which internet speed/bandwidth allocation to go for.
You need to take into consideration the number of devices that are using at the same time and with the same connection. You also have to think about the various internet activity that each person does like streaming, online gaming, surfing and the like.
And whenever you’re in doubt, you can always ask what your internet service provider suggests or find out for yourself by checking out different internet speed calculators available online.