What is Mbps and how much do you need?

If you’ve purchased an internet service provider, you’ve definitely seen the word “Mbps.” You’ve also probably found that the greater Mbps, the higher the price.

You must be thinking why this happens? What really Mbps is, and how many you need? Mbps is megabits per second, which is a means of calculating a network’s capacity or speed. The faster the internet gets the more Mbps you have.

Also Read: The Best Modems to Buy in 2020

What is Mbps?

Megabits per second (Mbps) is a measuring unit for a network’s bandwidth and performance. Each megabit equates to a million bits.

Let’s take one example. suppose you want to download an album from the internet. You go to the website, press a link, and start downloading the song file to your device. The speed of downloading the file will rely on your bandwidth. This bandwidth is expressed per second (Mbps), in megabits.

Generally, the higher the internet service’s Mbps, the faster files are downloaded from the internet. Here, the word “download” is not just about copying anything from the internet to your computer (e.g. an mp3 file or movie). The files have to be downloaded to your computer even while you are browsing the internet. Higher bandwidth would help ensure files are accessed more quickly.

How are Mbps network connections categorized?

The most popular sizes of the Mbps speeds provided by internet companies are:

  • 8 Mbps
  • 16 Mbps
  • 32 Mbps
  • 50 Mbps
  • 100 Mbps

Devices are sometimes branded as “10/100 Mbps” by network equipment providers, meaning that its interfaces can accommodate 10 and 100 Mbps Ethernet connections.

How many Mbps do you need?

There are two factors you have to remember when deciding which speed is adequate when selecting the perfect internet bandwidth package for your industry:

  1.  The nature of internet usage
  2.  The number of users

As stated earlier, speed is simply addressed here. Apart from speed, the quality of the link, consistency, and other aspects must also be considered when determining which service is appropriate for our business. To keep things simple for you, here are bandwidth sizes suggested by a single user for various usage circumstances:

  • Social Media and surfing the web (1– 3 Mbps)
  • Online video streaming e.g. via Netflix (3 – 5 Mbps)
  • Video conferencing (2 – 4 Mbps)
  • Streaming videos in HD (5 – 7 Mbps)

What are the ranges of Mbps? Because bandwidth represents the highest speed, not the average. The real speeds for upload and download are never at the max. In most situations, between 50 percent and 80 percent of the expected bandwidth vary. If you buy an internet plan for your company you need to keep this in mind.

Internet Download speeds of 100 Mbps are known sufficient for daily use. Aspects such as upload speed and latency should also be recognized for use situations such as office spaces and games, whereas file upload capability and user action-reaction time are especially relevant.

The typical Internet speed available in big cities is usually about 100 Mbps, but this will be faster in fiber-access communities. 25 Mbps is a more common speed in rural areas, especially in places that do not have a DSL or fiber. Rural locations revert to satellite, which presently offers a max speed of 25 Mbps.

 

 

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