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If you have ever tried to stream a movie on a connection with poor speeds, you may be familiar with how frustrating the experience can be. First, the picture quality is poor, and you have to wait it out from time to time as it buffers.
The quality of your streams is highly dependent on your speeds. But high speeds come at a price, and you may need to strike a balance between quality and the price you are willing to pay.
If you are unsure of the speeds you need for your home, this guide is for you.
Choosing a Provider
The quality of your internet experience boils down to your plan and the provider. Currently, the most reliable connection in Australia is the National Broadband Network (NBN), a multi-technology mix whose aim is to keep up with the current and future internet needs of Australians that cannot be attained through the traditional copper lines based network.
When switching from your traditional network to NBN, it is easy to be overwhelmed because you don’t want to make a choice that could get you back to the problems you are trying to get away from. Making this important choice can be easy if you use a comparison resource to compare NBN plans from the leading providers in the market.
How Fast Should My Internet Be?
Internet speed needs can vary from user to user and will be dependent on several factors. These factors can include the number of gadgets connected to the internet and the quality of the picture you need; 4K, ultra-HD, HD, and SD.
There are two sides to internet speeds; upload and downloads speeds. These two are significant depending on the kind of streaming you intend to do. For example, if your main internet use is streaming movies or music from service providers, the download speeds matter more than upload speeds. Conversely, if you use your internet for live streaming content or as a means of communication like zoom calls, the upload speeds matter the most.
Content Streaming Services and Required Speeds
If you are using your internet explosively for streaming movies from platforms such as YouTube, Netflix, Hulu, and Disney+ on one gadget, anything between 3–25 Mbps should be ideal. According to recommendations from Netflix, a user requires a minimum of 5mbps to stream a movie or a show in high definition. But users can still stream content in SD with speeds of as low as 2.5 Mbps.
But if you want to stream your content in 4K, the leading streaming content service providers recommend having a minimum of 25 Mbps. However, you may need to find a plan with higher speeds to meet your home’s internet needs, especially if you have several members of a household streaming simultaneously and other home appliances such as CCTV cameras and smart devices connected.
Determining Your Internet Speeds
When you subscribe to any given service provider, you may want to know if you are getting a fair deal in terms of speeds based on your plan. Using an online-based internet speed tester, you can test your internet speeds from any computer, smartphone, or smart TV connected to your Wi-Fi.
There are several sped testers on the internet that you can access through a simple search. Some streaming service providers have speed teeters that you can try if you are worried about your security when using speed test websites whose safety you cannot establish.
Typically, the maximum speed limit is determined by your plan and the speed your provider can provide. Currently, only a few providers reach speeds of up to 2000Mbps globally.
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