Choosing a plan with a trusted Internet service provider can be tricky if you aren’t familiar with the details that encompass accessing the Internet. You need a plan that fits your needs best, and how will you know which one is best for you if you don’t thoroughly understand what the terminology means? One thing you will need to consider when looking into obtaining internet access is how fast of an upload speed you need and how fast of a download speed you will need. Understanding what bandwidth is will further assist you in choosing the right plan.
Upload speed refers to the time it takes for the actions you entered into your internet-ready device to transmit to another server or device. When you send an email or make an online purchase, the speed at which that purchase or email goes through can depend on your upload speed. Other things that require a good upload speed would be if you regularly using video chatting and meeting apps such as Zoom and Skype. If your upload speed is slower, you will experience more latency when accessing the internet. This means online games could lag or not respond to your commands in a timely manner.
Download speed is how long it takes for your device and server to receive information and data. This is a more common action than uploading, so it is more critical to have a better download speed than upload. In fact, a lot of Internet service providers only advertise their download speeds. To see what the upload speed is, you will need to look at the fine print more than likely. Download speeds of 25 Mbps or higher meet the standard to be considered broadband by the Federal Communications Commission. Several factors can affect download speed, such as how many people are connected to the Internet through your WiFi connection and what activities are being performed online. Only an upload speed of 3 Mbps is standard.
Bandwidth is the capability of your WiFi connection to carry and transfer as much data as possible. A higher bandwidth means more people can be connected to the internet using your router, and it won’t affect the speed or latency of your connection as much. Think of it like lanes of traffic. The more lanes there are the more traffic that can get through at a faster rate. You need to consider the kinds of activities you will be partaking in using your WiFi to understand how much bandwidth you will need. While bandwidth can affect your internet speed, it is not the same thing. A lot of people confuse the two. The speed at which your internet performs requests made by you is the upload and download speeds. The amount of information your device can receive is referred to as bandwidth and is measured using megabits per second.
Having a good understanding of terms that encompass internet service will give you a solid grasp on what you need out of an internet provider and guide you in choosing the right plan for you. You can learn more by clicking here. Some people will require a higher bandwidth as well as better upload and download speeds depending on their careers and hobbies. Others will need only a small amount of these things in order to survive comfortably.