However, fiber internet connections are a unique exception. Since other activities that call for uploading data still require information to travel in both directions, the average person consistently needs higher download speeds than upload. As you’ll see below, most common online activities rely heavily on fast download speeds. upload speed because the majority of online activities need more download bandwidth than upload bandwidth. Most providers focus on download speed vs. Why internet upload speeds are slow and download speeds are fast The internet speeds you see in Mbps measure the rate at which a provider delivers internet data to and from your home (commonly referred to as download speed).ĭata also goes in two directions - you download and upload information from the internet, so each internet connection will have download speeds and upload speeds. Internet speeds are measured by how much data your internet connection can transfer per second, which is megabits of data per second (Mbps). Upload speed will determine how someone hears/sees you during video conferences, how fast it takes to upload your video to TikTok and more. If you or anyone in your household regularly uploads videos to YouTube or works from home, though, you may need a plan with higher upload speeds.įor example, if you have several devices in your household uploading at once, you should consider plans with 10 Mbps of upload speed or higher.
Upload speeds of 3 Mbps are considered good because they meet the FCC’s minimum standard. Keep in mind if you have more than one person simultaneously streaming, 50 Mbps or more will be necessary.
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To run a video conference on an application like Zoom, 1.5 Mbps is recommended, but 10 to 20 Mbps will make the experience more seamless. To stream Hulu, Netflix, Sling TV and other services, you should have a minimum download of 25 Mbps. We now work and learn from home, in addition to playing heavily detailed online games. Now, anything over 100 Mbps is considered “fast” internet.Ī good rule of thumb is to have a plan that supplies about 25 Mbps per person in your home, so while one person is video-conferencing, another can play an online game, all without interrupting each other.įor an example of speed use, video game console manufacturers suggest at least 3 Mbps of download speed and 0.5 Mbps to 1 Mbps of upload speed to enable your game to run without lag or glitches. The way we use the internet has changed since the pandemic. Keep in mind though that the number of devices, internet users and their online activities in your home can change what’s considered a good download speed for your household. Speeds of at least 25 Mbps are considered good download speeds since they meet the minimum broadband threshold set by the Federal Communication Commission (FCC). Sending emails, playing live tournament-style video games and video calling on Zoom require fast upload speeds for you to send data to someone else’s server.
While downloading information is more common, some online activities need data to travel in the opposite direction. Upload speed refers to how fast you can send information from your computer to another device or server on the internet. Activities such as listening to music on Spotify, downloading large files or streaming videos on Netflix all require you to download data. upload speedsĭownload speed refers to how many megabits of data per second it takes to download data from a server in the form of images, videos, text, files and audio to your device.