What Speed Bandwidth Do You Need?

Deciding what speed bandwidth you need for your internet connection is sort of like deciding how many megapixels you want in your digital camera. You'll find a lot of advertising saying you need the highest possible numbers today's technology can produce, but the truth is that not everyone requires the fastest bandwidth connection, and in fact, you might be wasting your money paying for speed you won’t ever use if you fall for the hype. Knowing exactly what speed suits your needs is your key to getting the most bang for your buck when it comes to your internet service.

What Difference Does Speed Bandwidth Make?

The most important thing to know about internet bandwidth speed is that nowadays, it’s rare for an internet connection to be “too slow” to actually perform certain tasks. With the exception of some dial-up services that exist in some areas, such as remote locations without physical access to broadband and Ethernet connections, most internet connections available today are fast enough to perform any task. The question is simply how long the task takes to complete, and that is what the speed bandwidth helps to determine.

Note that internet bandwidth is typically measured in bits, with 1 kbps equal to 1,000 bits per second, 1 Mbps equal to 1,000,000 bits per second, and 1 Gbps equal to 1,000,000,000 bits per second.

The most basic of internet connections typically begins around 512 kbps, with a more common speed being 1 Mbps. Note that this is for the most basic (and the cheapest) connection, with prices and speeds going up from there. A 512 kbps, or a 1 Mbps, connection, is enough for web surfing, email, watching movies online, downloading large files, operating Photoshop and other large programs, and nearly anything else you can imagine. The issue is that things may take longer than they would with a faster connection.

For example, if you’re watching a movie online, you may have to wait for the movie to load completely before watching to prevent it from freezing as it plays. Similarly, you may have to wait 15 minutes for your computer to download a large program, whereas with a faster connection it would take 5 minutes.

So the question isn’t so much what you can and can’t do with your connection: it’s how quickly you would like to do it. Bear in mind that internet service providers benefit from you ordering the fastest-speed package they have to offer because it makes them more money, but you simply may not need the speed they offer. You may not even notice the difference - because the other part of the equation, and the part that ISPs often don't tell you, is that the bandwidth speed is not the only factor in how fast your connection operates. If your computer has very little available memory, for example, then no matter how fast your internet connection is, downloading files and watching movies might require extra time, and paying more for a faster connection won't make any difference. Other factors, from the age of your modem to the length of your connecting cables, can also play a part in your actual speed.

Unless you know for a fact that you require a certain speed for your internet connection – for example, if you play an online game with a recommended speed, or if you have tested various connections and know which speeds suit your needs best – then chances are good you’ll be just fine with a basic internet connection at 1 Mbps or something in that area. Bear in mind that if the connection doesn’t suit your needs, and if your computer isn’t the issue, you can always upgrade your service later. It beats paying for a speed bandwidth that you might not be receiving and/ or might not need.