The Debate: What is a good download speed?

The global digital population is growing more every minute. According to Statista, there are almost 4.4 billion active internet users around the world as of January 2019, 3.5 billion of which are social media users. China, India and the United States top the list when it comes to internet usage.

This statistic means that the demand for good download speed is also growing, but the debate is still up until today: what is a good download speed? Here’s what we know:

Speed Tests: Are You Getting Your Money’s Worth?

With internet connection becoming an indispensable tool for living, you’ve always set aside money in your budget for a good internet service provider. But are you really getting what you paid for? A speed test will let you know if the download speed you were promised when you signed up is really being delivered to you.

When running an internet ptcl speed test, you will also be provided with upload speed, ping and other relevant data that affects your browsing experience. While you might notice that your ISP includes the “up to” phrase when determining your bandwidth service level, you can use your internet speed data to claim any refunds if your download speed is usually lower than the promised service level in your agreement.

Understanding Download Speeds Better

So, you hear download speeds often but don’t understand it fully. This number simply denotes the rate at which internet content is transferred to your computer or device in Mbps. If you like streaming videos or other rich media content, you will need good download speeds to get the best experience.

What Exactly Is a Good Download Speed?

There is no one-size-fits-all standard when it comes to good download speed because it will depend heavily on what you’re using your internet connection for. So, the best way to determine it is by using different streaming activities and the minimum speed you need to perform them without buffering:

• Normal web surfing including streaming music and SD quality videos on your computer or laptop will require at least 1Mbps broadband speed. If you’re streaming SD quality videos on your smart TV or streaming lossless music, you will need at least 2Mbps to stream without issues.
• For streaming HD (720p) videos, at least 5Mbps is required while you will need 10Mbps for streaming full HD (1080p) videos with high definition audio.
• If you want the best streaming experience using Ultra HD or 4K videos, you will need at least 25 Mbps on your broadband speed.

While you want to best service from your ISP, you also need to remember that a lot of factors can affect your internet speeds. If several computers or devices are connected to your router at a time, for instance, you can’t expect to have the best broadband speeds because you are sharing it with multiple users.

You can solve this problem with a high-end dual band router that lets you enjoy fast speeds even when a lot of people are using the internet at the same time.