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We simply love internet, we love being online so much that we own a computer (desktop or laptop), tablet, smartphone and we are looking online for new wearable technology we could connect.
We used to use internet just for communication, sending emails and using instant messengers like msn or yahoo messenger. Then we started using YouTube and social networks. We did this using our desktops or laptops, not anymore. Nowadays you can see one person using multiple devices.
When we connect few or all devices to our home network we can experience lag. If you are not a gamer, you might never have serious problems with lag (Norwegian lagga “go slowly”). But, if you are an online gamer, I can bet you just remembered at least five moments when lag resulted you getting angry, and you probably lost match. Been there, seen that, screamed then!
Do you know what is your internet speed? Is it fast enough and do you need more “power”? Let’s see;
There are several sites where you can check your broadband speed online, check it now and remember it (or write it down). It would be good to check your speed few times (two or three times should be enough to see deviations).
Now let’s see if that is fast enough for you.
1-4 Mbps
This speed will load most sites with ease, you will be able to play some games online without experiencing lag and you will be able to watch YouTube videos (not HD, this could be a problem – slow loading and buffering).
4-6 Mbps
If you have IPTV (internet television) this speed should work great. For an example, Netflix says that you need at least 5Mbps for streaming HD shows and movies. It is important to notice that this is enough if one person (or device) is connected.
6-10 Mbps
This is preferred speed for online gaming and HD videos (YouTube, Netflix, Amazon, etc). This speed should provide uninterrupted gaming and a smooth streaming.
10-15 Mbps
This where you can see “speed”, or at least most users said they noticed the difference. With this speed you can instantly open most websites and cloud services are much more responsive. When you experience this speed you simply can’t go back to slower package.
15-50 Mbps
There isn’t much to say about this speed, by now you should know what can work. If you have several devices or if you usually have more computers connected at the same time this is the speed you need. Also, if you plan to stream your games over a Twitch or similar sites this speed should be good (avoid Wi-Fi).
50+ Mbps
Speeds like this are not usually something we see in our homes, this speed is more for office, video conferencing or real time data analysis. Considering that technology which we can connect to internet is developing and we use it more than ever this speed could be in our homes sooner than expected.
