

Going over this can often mean additional fees and throttled service speeds. Data capĪ limit put in place by a provider dictating how much data you can use per month. LatencyĬommonly referred to as “lag,” latency is the delay between when data is sent to your computer and when it ultimately arrives. Gigabitįiber Internet plans are often described as “gigabit” because the speeds are close to 1,000 Megabits per second (Mbps), which is 1 Gigabit. Megabits are a unit of measurement for data. It may also matter if you're uploading files using P2P file sharing (“torrenting”) services. We’ll be focused on download speeds in this guide, but this is still an important part of the internet equation, coming into play when uploading photos and videos, playing certain games, and using VoIP services like Skype and Facetime. Upload speedĬontrary to download speed, upload speed refers to how quickly your computer can send data to the web. Sometimes referred to as “downspeed” or simply “down,” this is generally understood as the speed at which your computer can stream and download items from the internet. It is important to note that bandwidth is not a speed guarantee it is merely a reflection of optimal conditions.

Overview: learn the basic terms Plugging in with ethernet often delivers faster speed than using Wi-Fi.Īs you explore your options for service, you’ll likely run across these common terms being used when providers describe the various packages they offer: Bandwidthīandwidth in this context simply refers to the amount of data that can be transmitted by your provider in a given period of time. Which type of service is ideal for those speeds.The basic terms used by internet providers.In this guide, I’ll explain how to understand your speed options in three parts: When choosing an internet provider, determining which package is best for you often boils down to a question of how much “speed” you want to get out of your service, but what does this really mean? Companies are advertising bigger and bigger numbers each year, but how much is actually practical, and for that matter, what do those numbers even tell you about the quality of the service overall? Connections slower than 15 Mbps are likely to start having buffering issues for video. Anything above 25 Mbps is sufficient for 1–3 people to stream HD video on multiple devices, use video chat apps, and connect multiple devices without buffering issues.
