That's fair enough - it is one of the two most important factors you need to consider, along with the price. But there's another speed spec that providers don't shout about, and is often quite difficult to find anywhere.
The upload speed. As you probably know, the download speed represents the speed at which data is transferred from the internet to your computer. Well, the upload speed is the opposite. It's how fast data moves from your computer to the network. Broadband providers place all their emphasis on download speeds because the vast majority of the stuff you do online involves downloading.
Everything from opening a simple web page to streaming 4K video on Netflix is affected by your download speed. By and large, the faster it is the better your experience will be. But you're uploading all the time, too. Every time your computer communicates with a website or other online service it does so by uploading packets of data to those services. This is how it opens a web page or logs you in to your online bank account. However, the amount of data involved is so small that it's unaffacted by your upload speed.
It all happens instantanesouly. If your upload speeds fall below your needs or expectations, there are a number of factors that can contribute to slow speeds. The main culprit of slow upload speeds, especially when compared to your download speeds, is the internet plan itself. Plans from most internet service providers, with the exception of fiber service, typically come with max upload speeds around a tenth or less of their advertised download speeds.
If you sign up for an internet plan with max download speeds of 50Mbps, you can likely expect peak upload speeds of 5Mbps or less. Most cable internet providers, including Cox, Spectrum and Xfinity , have max upload speeds of 30 to 35Mbps, even though gigabit download speeds are often available.
The same goes for most DSL and satellite internet services; upload speeds are far lower than the advertised download speeds. How to fix it: The best thing you can do is find out what the available max upload speeds are with a particular provider or plan before signing up.
This may involve talking to a customer service representative since many providers do not display upload speeds on their sites, either because they don't deem them important or because they are embarrassingly slow compared to download speeds. If you already have internet service, you may want to consider upgrading to a faster plan. You'll likely not only get faster upload speeds but also a nice boost in download speeds.
Fiber technology supports the bandwidth required for symmetrical or near-symmetrical download and upload speeds. So if you sign up for a Mbps plan, you can expect download and upload speeds of around Mbps over a wired connection.
Wi-Fi is an alternative to a wired connection , not its own separate internet service. If you use a Wi-Fi connection, expect download and upload speeds to be half or less than your plan's max advertised speeds, which are intended for a wired connection.
Range and obstructions can be issues when using Wi-Fi as well. The farther you move away from your router, or if you move to a different room or floor, the lower your upload speeds are likely to be. How to fix it: Using a wired Ethernet connection will almost always give you a faster, more reliable connection. Try using a wired connection if you need fast, stable upload speeds for an important meeting or school project.
A wired connection isn't always practical and Wi-Fi is much more convenient, so there will often be times when Wi-Fi is your only option. Upload-intensive applications present an even bigger issue when multiple users are on your network. For example, if the upload bandwidth is too small, a single VoIP call could cause web and other services to lag. With the average business placing a greater, two-way strain on a typical internet connection, it becomes more important to accommodate for simultaneous, continuous uploads.
Although high upload speeds are desirable for a small business, such service is more expensive than those with more modest upload performance. Determining exactly how much you need depends on how you use your internet. For organizations that need only basic web browsing, email and video, a lower upload rate will work fine.
For example, if your household is located in a rural area, chances are you might have a cap on the maximum speeds available for your household because of the networking infrastructure built in your area.
According to the FCC , a student would need anywhere between 5 and 25 Mbps , whereas a person who streams videos or browses the internet would only need between 1 and 8 Mbps.
Mbps stands for megabits per second and is a unit of measurement for the amount of data that can be transferred every second. A household who has a gaming system might need a minimum of 10 - 25 Mbps , but might also need an additional 1 - 10 Mbps of bandwidth to support other functions that are occurring at the same time. It depends on the amount of internet users in the family who are also using the bandwidth in your home. When considering the quality of your broadband connection, another important measurement is latency—an important benchmark when it comes to gaming and streaming because of its ability to impact gameplay or buffer times.
Latency is the quantifiable delay usually measured in milliseconds of data transfer between your local computer and a remote server. The best latency speed you can have is zero. Sometimes, the terms latency and ping are used interchangeably. Ping is also measured in milliseconds, with an average ping time landing anywhere between 30 ms and 50 ms.
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