High-Speed Internet Connection – How Much Bandwidth Do You Need?
Have you moved to a new place and just need to get your household internet plan up and running with the right kind of speed? Or are you just shopping around for some new options? Figuring out a broadband connection and a plan with the right kind of speed can be a little more confusing than you might assume.
Any plan that you choose and pay for your internet speed and capacity prompts the same question: Is this a high-speed internet connection that will suit your needs? How much bandwidth do you really need?
The fact is broadband speed is one of the major considerations when choosing a broadband provider in Nagaland. It defines how fast you can execute a task online and more importantly, how many of those tasks your network can handle at the same time. Unless you are the only person using wifi broadband at your house for browsing Facebook or Instagram, you might need more than the minimum speed.
Let’s find out how a high-speed internet connection matters and how much bandwidth do you need to suit your requirements?
How Much Bandwidth Do You Need?
The requirement for broadband speed completely depends on your usage. If you have multiple devices running online at the same time, you need a better plan. For instance, if you are working from home every day for nearly 8 hours, you might need anything more than 25Mbps. Here’s a small break up of how different activities utilize the bandwidth.
| ACTIVITIES | Bandwidth Usage |
| VoIP Calls | Less Than 0.5 Mbps |
| Zoom Call | 1.5 Mbps |
| Web Browsing & Email | 3 – 5 Mbps |
| Google Meet | 3 – 5 Mbps |
| Social Media | 3 -5 Mbps |
| Streaming Videos | 3 -40 Mbps |
| Video Calls | 10 – 20 Mbps |
| E-Learning (3-4 hours) | 25 Mbps |
Streaming
For streaming videos, you need a minimum of 3 Mbps. But if you want to watch a 4K streaming on your Ultra HD-enabled devices, then you need at least 25 Mbps. This completely depends on your usage. Some streaming services require faster speeds, like:
Youtube: 1.1 Mbps for Standard Definition, 5 Mbps for Full HD Videos and 20 Mbps for 4K
Amazon Prime Video: 900 Kbps for Standard Definition & 3.5 Mbps for HD
Netflix: 25 Mbps for HDR, 5 Mbps for HD & 3 Mbps for Standard Definition
Facebook Live Streaming: 10 Mbps for HD Videos
DIRECTV NOW: 2.5 – 7.5 Mbps for HD on mobile, 12 Mbps for streaming on a web browser
Hulu: 3 Mbps for on-demand and 8 Mbps for Live TV
Gaming
For online gaming, you need a minimum of 4–8 Mbps, but for consistently efficient gaming, you require 10–25 Mbps. Being an online gamer, you should also be careful about ping time, as you do a substantial amount of both downloading and uploading.
To make your household broadband connection faster, you can boost the Wi-Fi signal by resetting or moving the router. Or you can even add an extender or a Wi-Fi repeater to stabilize the signals for gaming devices, further away from the router.
Working From Home
When it comes to working at the comfort of your home, there is never one-size-fits-all. It completely depends upon what kind of downloading and uploading activity you need in your work.
If you have more than 3 – 4 members in a house working or learning remotely, you definitely need a plan of at least 100 Mbps. But if you just frequently download and upload large files, your requirement will not exceed 50 Mbps. And if your requirement is for video conferencing, you can settle for at least 10 Mbps.
Upload Speed vs. Download Speed
Upload Speed vs. Download Speed is another important aspect that you need to understand. The difference between the two is very simple. Upload speed is all about the faster data can be sent out to the internet and download speed is all about the faster data can be pulled from the internet. Most of the time, you use download bandwidth more often than upload.
But if you are working from home, upload speed is more important when you are trying to send an email with a large attachment or have video conferencing. Many internet providers offer plans with less upload speed than download speed. Now, this means that you can comfortably stream video in regular HD, but your video calls might be choppier than you think. So, when buying an internet plan, you should check how much upload and download speed is being offered by your service provider.
Now that you have a general idea of how much bandwidth you really need, you can consider all these aspects when choosing a broadband service in Nagaland. If you are looking for the best internet service, Symbios broadband plans have a lot to offer and are ideal for working from home, online gaming and even streaming videos. So, get set up with the right kind of broadband connection to suit your needs.
