TeamAside from price, the next thing we look for when shopping for internet or evaluating the current internet service is speed. But unlike the price, where you can quickly assess the costs and say, “that’s in line with my budget”, speed is hard to determine since you have to install it at your place before making an evaluation. What is the best internet speed? Is 100mbps fast, or is 10mbps slow? These are some of the questions that come to our minds when trying to evaluate the quality of the internet. Therefore this article looks into how internet speed is measured, what is considered slow and fast internet, let’s answer some of these questions to help you determine the quality of internet you have or plan to install.
How Is Internet Speed MeasuredÂ
Download and upload speeds are essentially how internet speed is measured. In both, the speed is represented in bps, that is (bits per second). The internet transfers thousands of bits per second; hence, they are represented in Kilobytes, megabytes and gigabytes, denoted as K, M and G, to show how many thousand bits are being transferred.
- K stands for 1,000
- M stands for 1,000,000 which is equal to 1,000K
- K stands for 1,000,000,000 which is equivalent to 1,000M
When looking at internet speeds, you will notice that they are usually indicated as Mbps, Gbps, and Kbps. Mbps is quite common since it is the average speed that fits our normal internet usage.
What Is Good Internet Speed?Â
A perfect internet speed stands at 25mbps download speed and an upload speed of 3mbps. The rate will flawlessly support activities such as HD streaming, video chat, emailing, browsing, gaming, and downloading. Internet speeds that stand at 100mbps are even better, especially if you want to include many people or devices in your internet plan. Some online activities can also be supported by internet speed that is below 25Mbps and 100Mbps. You can stream some standard videos with a speed of up to 3Mbps. For example, the expected rate required to view videos on Netflix is 3mbps; however, it all depends on the quality you want to view
What Is Fast Internet?Â
Internet download speeds that are at or above 100mbps are considered fast. It is because they can serve multiple online users and online activities simultaneously without facing any interruption. Fast internet should also have an average upload speed of up to 10Mbps. With 10Mbps upload speed; you will carry several activities such as uploading large files and video chat without much problem. Skype recommends an upload speed of at least 1.2 Mbps for high definition video calling. Also, with a speed of 10mbps uploading a 700MB file should not exceed 10 minutes.
Slow Internet 
Speed tiers that are considered low and cannot be considered broadband are usually below 25mbps. It will be difficult for the users when many devices are connected or when many online activities are being done with such speed levels. The users using internet speeds below 25mbps will most likely experience buffering and long video loading time. The Federal Communications Commission recommends rates of about 25mbps for various activities online such as streaming, in both high and standard definition; however, they do not recommend such speeds for connection to many devices or multiple users.
What Is The Best Internet For You?Â
To help you determine the best internet for your household or business, you have first to find out the number of users, various online activities they engage in and the type of devices connected to the internet. For example, if most people stream videos and movies in HD, play games online, send large document files, you will need a faster internet speed of up to 100Mbps. However, if fewer users and devices are connected, and their online activities are also simple, like browsing and watching standard definition videos, 25Mbps will do. Anything lower than 25 Mbps may be pretty troublesome and force you to keep calling your internet service provider. Also, if you are the only user and only need to browse and send emails, 10mbps will be efficient.
Want To Know Your Internet Speed? Take A Speed Test
Has your curiosity risen from all this internet speed talk? Why not go ahead and confirm how fast or slow your internet speed is. Many speed check applications are easy to use and will give you all the details of your speed, from the ping to the upload speed. You can also check the speed from your computer. Testing for the speed will show you how fast or slow your internet is, and you can call your ISP with this information to make the necessary adjustments.
Final Take
A slight increase or decrease on the internet speed is noticeable. Therefore you need to be keen to notice such fluctuations. If possible, take a test to monitor the internet speed. As stated by FCC, slow internet is anything below 25Mbps, while fast internet is anything above 100Mbps. Therefore depending on your usage and budget, you can opt for one that best suits your needs.
