Different people use the internet for various reasons and this actually affects their decision for a suitable internet plan. Internet users are usually classified into surfers, streamers and gamers, depending on what you often spend your time doing online.
Undoubtedly, the gamer would need an internet speed far greater than a basic surfer. Higher speeds would be needed for streaming movies or watching tutorial videos online than for merely scrolling through social media and constantly refreshing your mails.
Homes with more people would need faster internet plans than small households. You also have to consider the number of devices in your house like smart TVs and doorbell cameras because they expand your plan. If you’re looking for a fast and reliable internet provider in outer Tri-Cities, check https://www.rango.net/regions/outer-tri-cities.
This article discusses data usage habits and how they affect your choice of internet plans.
Internet Speeds
Internet speed is the amount of time it takes to transfer a certain amount of data from a server to your device and vice versa. This is crucial to know because it shows the limit of the packets of data you can upload or download.
There are internet plans from about 1Mbps (Megabits per second) to as large as 5000Mbps. The higher the plans, the faster the internet speed. Generally, individuals are okay with an internet speed of 25Mbps. On the other hand, 100Mbps is more fitting for families of average size as it gives room for streaming HD videos, playing online games and attending zoom meetings with the least possible bufferings.
Download Speeds vs. Upload Speeds
As a matter of fact, internet speeds are measured in two ways, download speed and upload speed. While download speed refers to how quick it is to transfer bundles of data from different servers to your computer, upload speed denotes the time taken to move data from your device to the internet.
Downloading files, shopping online, scrolling through social media, and streaming music or videos all use download speeds. Video or audio conferencing, sending emails, online gaming or vlogging on YouTube employ upload speeds.
Generally, people download less information than they upload, so most internet service providers allot less bandwidth to uploads, making download speeds faster than that of uploads. It is still possible to get equal upload and download speeds – symmetrical speeds – using fiber internet plans.
How Much Is Enough?
Considering what types of activities you engage in online, there are the recommended plans to go for. You need to know that the internet speeds mentioned in your plan are usually the maximum, so you may want to get a little more bandwidth than needed if it fits your budget. Also, be cautious of data caps.
Very Small
This ranges from 0-5 Mbps. It is enough to surf the web, stream videos in HD on a single device, and send emails. It would be fine for an individual who doesn’t engage in many activities online.
Low
Internet speeds between 5-40 Mbps are a better option if you use the internet for activities like streaming videos only on one device, video calling, playing video games online as a single player, and even running one or two smart devices.
Medium
For streaming in 4K on 2–4 devices, playing online games with multiple players, running 3–5 smart devices, and downloading files between 500 MB to 2 GB in a short time, 40–100 Mbps would be prescribed.
High
100–500 Mbps is preferable for households as it can stream in 4K on 5+ devices, rapidly download large files that are up to 30 GB and run over five smart devices. It can also be used for running a home office.
Extremely High
You could do virtually anything with 500 –1,000+ Mbps without really worrying about the number of connected devices. Streaming in 4K on 10 or more computers, downloading and uploading files way beyond 30GB in a matter of minutes, live streaming, and running 10 or more IoT devices in your home can all be done with no slowdowns.
What Type of Internet Connection Do You Need?
The internet speeds you can get depend largely on the type of connections. The common internet connection types are DSL (Digital Subscriber Line), cable internet, fiber optic internet, wireless or Wi-Fi, and satellite internet.
The fiber optic internet is the fastest, sometimes reaching over 2000 Mbps, and offers a high-quality internet connection. However, it is not available everywhere.
Cable is more accessible with fast download speeds. It has average speeds of 50-100 Mbps, although it can clock up to as high as 1000 Mbps.
Satellite internet is among the most common types of internet but it has relatively low speeds of 5–25 Mbps and 3–5 Mbps after data cap. This is because the long distance the signal travels back and forth from the earth to the satellite delays the connection.
The Wi-Fi uses radio frequency rather than wires for connection, and it has speeds from 20-30 Mbps.
Latency
Latency or ping rate is another factor to consider when choosing an internet plan. High latency can cause your videos to take longer to buffer, affect online calls and live streams and lead to lags when playing games online. Satellite internet connection has the highest latency rate, while fiber-optic has the least.
Conclusion
Trying to decide on an internet plan may seem tough at first, but there’s a simple way around it. Evaluate how frequently you use the internet. Observe what you do online most of the time. Calculate the number of people that will be connected to this plan and what they do on the web.
You would also need to check out what kind of internet service is available in your area. Following these steps would make it a lot easier to make up your mind on which internet plan you need.
