We are all in search of faster internet speed.
Before we delve into what is a good broadband speed, it is always a good idea to first find out the speed of your existing broadband internet connection.
You can do this by running an internet speed test.
The speed checker will display the download and upload speed for your internet connection.
The results may vary depending on how utilised your broadband connection is at the time you run the broadband speed test.
Results will be lower if you have several people using the connection.
What is the minimum broadband speed I need?
| How do you use your Internet Connection? | Minimum Download Speed Required |
|---|---|
Household of 1 - 3 individuals: Web Surfing, Email, Online Shopping, Social Media, Music Streaming, Standard Definition (SD) Video streaming. | Up to 25Mb |
Household of 3 - 4 individuals: High Definition (HD) Video Streaming, Social Media, Video conferencing, Skype, Zoom, FaceTime, Online Gaming, Streaming music. | 30 - 60Mb |
Household of 4 - 6 individuals: Multiple Heavy Users, Smart Home devices, Recording & Surveillance devices, Ultra High Definition (UHD) Video Streaming, Netflix, Gaming, etc | 60 - 100Mb |
Household of 6+ individuals: Multiple heavy users performing all of the above plus frequently downloading/uploading large files, peer-to-peer file sharing and Avid online gamers. | Over 100Mb+ |
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Best UK Broadband Deals This WeekHow is broadband speed measured?
Broadband speed is measured in terms of how much data your internet connection can download and upload per second.
This measure is represented in megabits per second (Mbps).
The higher the number, the faster your broadband internet connection should be.
A faster connection means that websites will load quicker, streaming video will be faster and online gaming and video calls will be smoother.
What is internet bandwidth?
Internet Bandwidth is a generic term for the speed of your broadband connection. As mentioned in the above section, broadband speed is measured in Mbps (download & upload).
The higher the value, the higher the volume of data that can pass over your broadband connection.
Download vs Upload speed. What is the difference?
To help clarify how download and upload speed is used, here is a summary of activities used by either.
These activities are more reliant on a good download speed
- Streaming movies and watching shows online
- Browsing websites and social media
- Streaming videos on YouTube
- Streaming music
- Gaming
These activities are more reliant on a good Upload speed
- Voice, Video and conference calls
- Online gaming
- Backing up data to online or cloud storage services such as Dropbox
- Uploading videos to Youtube or social media
- Sending emails with huge attachments
An inadequate upload speed will cause buffering and there will be a visible impact on performance.
What is a good broadband download speed Mbps?
Download speed is how quick in megabits per second (Mbps) it takes for data to transfer from a website (e.g. images, videos, text) to your PC or phone browser.
Listening to music and watching videos on services such as Spotify, YouTube, Amazon, Netflix, etc. uses your download speed.
Download speeds of at least 25 Mbps are considered a good download speed to support the above activities.
The more the number of users using the broadband connection the higher the download speed requirement.
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What is a good broadband upload speed in Mbps?
Upload speed is a measurement of how many megabits of data per second your internet connection can send from your computer or phone to a server/website on the internet.
Activities such as video calling, skype, sending an email, uploading videos to YouTube and gaming are reliant on good upload speed.
Broadband upload speeds of 10 Mbps or above are considered as fast.
Uploading a file of 800MB should take less than 10 minutes at an upload speed of 10 Mbps.
What is a good broadband speed for streaming Video?
Netflix and other online streaming companies such as Amazon Prime Video say you need 5 Mbps to stream High-Definition (HD) films and shows.
To stream 4k video, Netflix recommends at least 25 Mbps whilst Amazon Prime Video recommend at least 15 Mbps.
If there are multiple users in the household, a download speed of at least 50 Mbps is recommended.
What is a good broadband speed – FAQs
FAQ - what is a good broadband speed
Twitch is an online website that allows users and gamers to watch or stream their game play. The videos can be live or pre-recorded. Twitch also hosts tournaments between competitive players.
To watch Twitch a broadband connection over 5Mbps will work fine. If you plan to stream on Twitch, an upload speed of 5Mbps will allow to stream HD Video (720p or 1080p). To streak 4K quality video you will be looking at a minimum upload speed of 25Mbps.
A broadband download speed of 25Mbps and above is considered as a good broadband speed. If you are unsure of you speed you can use a broadband speed checker to test your broadband speed instantly.
If you are happy with your current broadband provider, contact them to find out if you can upgrade to a faster broadband connection speed.
Alternatively, if you would like to change broadband providers, check out these top 6 broadband deals available this week. By switching your broadband you could benefit from new customer deals discounts.
The latest XBox and Playstation game consoles require a minimum of 3Mb download and 0.5 Mbps (500 Kbps) upload speed. This is the minimum requirement for a single player.
For better multi-player online gaming performance, we recommend download speeds closer to 15–25 Mbps and an Upload speed of 5 Mbps and above.
These guidelines do not take into consideration other internet activities in the home e.g other people in the household streaming, gaming, downloading and uploading files, etc.
Games and gaming consoles also require updates and patches so the faster the download speed the quicker these updates will be.
We recommend a broadband download speed of 50Mbps or above to be sufficient to cover a household of 4/5 moderate internet users.