Do I need extremely fast internet?

[FreedomEclipse]

my net tops out at 87mb down and 20-30up and i cannot see myself dropping down to anything lower.

 

[dirtyferret]

not only is it complete overkill but like Bill stated when using streaming services your issue is almost "upstream" dependent. Streaming a 4k movie from Amazon or Netflix (they use amazon servers) uses about 3-6mbps depending on the scene. Hulu, Playstation Vue, Amazon, etc., all compress the snot out of a stream that 1080p barely breaks 1.5 mbps now.

Our ISP upgraded us from 60 to 100mbps and I see no difference in anything we do at all at home. In fact yesterday my Asus AC 1900 died on me (less then two years old and kept shutting down wi-fi after a few minutes each time I did a hard reboot) so I grabbed mu old Asus N600 router. It handled streaming a 1080p movie my kids watched, two mobile phones, my wife streaming the cooking channel, my computer playing an online video game and a 1080p football game streaming to a TV as watched with one eye on the game and one playing a video game. The N600 router never broke 10 mbps and there was never a buffering issue.

 

[Bill_Bright]

Okay, I meant the fastest from the available ones in order to let everyone do what they want without hunging up.

It is still not that easy. And there are still many variables. If it was that easy, I would simply say from slower to faster, it goes like this:

1. Dial-up​

2. DSL​

3. Cable​

4. Fiber-optic​

The problem is, "available ones" depends on where you live, the providers in your area, the service levels they provide, and (perhaps most importantly) what you are willing to pay for. So you need to first and foremost, see what is available in your area. Then decide how much you are willing to pay every month.

There's generally no argument that dial-up is slowest and fiber is fastest. And typically cable is faster than DSL. But in some regions, faster DSL is available.

Most cell phone carriers also provide Internet access, but it typically is pretty slow, and can be very expensive. Satellite providers may also provide Internet access in some areas and often is pretty slow. In other areas, satellite is the only Internet access available.

A significant variable is your demand on your connection. If it is just you in the house, and at most, you will only have one on-line gaming session or HD TV streaming session at one time, or if just you surfing the Internet and streaming HD to one TV at any one time, a decent DSL connection will be plenty. But if there are several Internet users in your home sharing one connection who will all be accessing the Internet at the same time, you will probably need more bandwidth (a faster connection).

 

[R0H1T]

If 400Mbps isn't hugely expensive, over 100Mbps or any other plan, then keep it. Also unless there's zero competition in your area, the plans will get cheaper over time. So if this plan is affordable, just about, then you ought not to go back a tier below.

 

[dirtyferret]

There is also the issue of how far away you are from the "head end". Is it in the same town/city, one town over, or the other side of the county like some communities have.

If 400Mbps isn't hugely expensive, over 100Mbps or any other plan, then keep it. Also unless there's zero competition in your area, the plans will get cheaper over time. So if this plan is affordable, just about, then you ought not to go back a tier below.

....what ISP plan gets cheaper over time? I've yet to see one.

 

[R0H1T]

There is also the issue of how far away you are from the "head end". Is it in the same town/city, one town over, or the other side of the county like some communities have.


....what ISP plan gets cheaper over time? I've yet to see one.

You mean with competition they don't? I've seen 10~100Mbps plan get really cheap in my area, granted there's 3 alternatives to choose from.

 

[dirtyferret]

We have a choice of two, cable and a half baked DSL set up. My cable ISP has raised prices every year and every year I tell them i'm switching if they dont give me the old plan (I worked in the cable network industry for years). When I lived in a city we had a choice of TW and At&T and both raised prices constantly. Consider yourself extremely lucky you have three ISP to choose from. Most places have just one.

 

[R0H1T]

We have a choice of two, cable and a half baked DSL set up. My cable ISP has raised prices every year and every year I tell them i'm switching if they dont give me the old plan (I worked in the cable network industry for years). When I lived in a city we had a choice of TW and At&T and both raised prices constantly. Consider yourself extremely lucky you have three ISP to choose from. Most places have just one.

It totally depends on where you live, for instance in some Indian metros there are as many as 5 or 6 viable choices. Obviously the better ones are (generally) more expensive, but with speeds going up across the country ~ more plans are getting cheaper each passing year.

 

[Durvelle27]

You need the fastest possible

 

[dirtyferret]

What places have 5-6? I live in the largest metro area in the country and everyone has two if they are lucky. When I lived in the south people had one or two. Unless you are lucky enough to have Google fiber you probably have one or two unless you use a cell phone provider and Bill already explained those cons.

 

[R0H1T]

What places have 5-6? I live in the largest metro area in the country and everyone has two if they are lucky. When I lived in the south people had one or two. Unless you are lucky enough to have Google fiber you probably have one or two unless you use a cell phone provider and Bill already explained those cons.

"Indian metros"

 

[dirtyferret]

Consider yourself very lucky, the rest of the country has fewer choices.

 

[DeathtoGnomes]

Consider yourself very lucky, the rest of the country has fewer choices.

my area is locked out of having a choice of cable via a contract with the apartment complex. I could get an ATT broadband connection but the actual speed is shit and for the same price.

 

[dirtyferret]

Our "competition" is frontier and their ad hock DSL service. They bought out many of the local AT&T and Verizon DSL services. They use a combination of phone lines and fiber to the mail box (not the home). From people who have used them, they offer around 4-10mbps down regardless of what package you get (when its working) and its difficult to cancel their service. They also have a history of throttling their customer, see link below. Basically they prey on low income households so you really have no choice but to go with the local cable ISP.
https://consumerist.com/2014/10/21/...ing-they-dont-get-advertised-internet-speeds/

 

[FordGT90Concept]

If you have to ask, the answer is "no." The most a 4K stream will use is ~100 Mb/s, typically much, much less (like 30 Mb/s)

 

[Crusti]

It is still not that easy. And there are still many variables. If it was that easy, I would simply say from slower to faster, it goes like this:

1. Dial-up​

2. DSL​

3. Cable​

4. Fiber-optic​

The problem is, "available ones" depends on where you live, the providers in your area, the service levels they provide, and (perhaps most importantly) what you are willing to pay for. So you need to first and foremost, see what is available in your area. Then decide how much you are willing to pay every month.

There's generally no argument that dial-up is slowest and fiber is fastest. And typically cable is faster than DSL. But in some regions, faster DSL is available.

Most cell phone carriers also provide Internet access, but it typically is pretty slow, and can be very expensive. Satellite providers may also provide Internet access in some areas and often is pretty slow. In other areas, satellite is the only Internet access available.

A significant variable is your demand on your connection. If it is just you in the house, and at most, you will only have one on-line gaming session or HD TV streaming session at one time, or if just you surfing the Internet and streaming HD to one TV at any one time, a decent DSL connection will be plenty. But if there are several Internet users in your home sharing one connection who will all be accessing the Internet at the same time, you will probably need more bandwidth (a faster connection).

I meant all the things you've mentioned, I just didn't go into details like you do. Of course it depends on several factors and availability of different types of Internet in your area.

 

[Deleted member 67555]

Before I updated I was able to watch 2-4k and 2-1080p streams with a 100/30 connection.
Gaming depends on the connection of the servers and other people you are gaming with as well as your connection and the speed of your home network.
4k generally runs about 5-9mb/s with surging up to 24... That also depends on quality of the stream... As not all 4k is streamed the same.
Most of it isn't actually 4k it's 2k.

 

[R00kie]

Wish UK isp's done the same - unfortunately that's not the case with virgin media.

View attachment 106766
That's mine - guess it's not too bad at all.

Try and live with this:

Paying for 76, and getting 12...

 

[Bill_Bright]

I just didn't go into details

It's a technical forum. Details are important to avoid confusion and to ensure understanding.

Of course it depends on several factors...

You say "of course" but it is important to remember what seems obvious to you likely isn't to many with less experience in that area. So again, details are important.

Basically they prey on low income households so you really have no choice but to go with the local cable ISP.

Cable is typically is the better option anyway - in terms of performance and consistency, not always your budget. That said, not sure Frontier is a good indicative example as that company is dying due to a huge debt. But as the 4th largest DSL provider in this country, we'll have to see if they can pull themselves out of their woes with the help of their new Nokia partnership. If you are the gambling type, you might do well to invest in Frontier. Or you might be throwing away your money!

 

[Deleted member 178884]

Try and live with this:

View attachment 107311
Paying for 76, and getting 12...

BT - no wonder..... Is hyperoptic available in your area? They are the best, Second would be virgin media, I've only got their 50 down package and I done that over wireless 2.4ghz

 

[Bill_Bright]

Paying for 76, and getting 12...

Check your contract. If it says "up to" 76, you may be hosed. But if it shows a minimum, you may have grounds to complain. And for sure, there should be some government consumer protection agency you can complain to too.

In any event, I would contact your ISPs tech support and have them check your lines.

 

[R00kie]

BT - no wonder..... Is hyperoptic available in your area? They are the best, Second would be virgin media, I've only got their 50 down package and I done that over wireless 2.4ghz

I'm with Plusnet, but they're using BT's infrastructure, last time I was with Virgin, all I got was 4 megs down and up
such is the life without fiber to the premises

 

[Deleted member 178884]

I'm with Plusnet, but they're using BT's infrastructure, last time I was with Virgin, all I got was 4 megs down and up
such is the life without fiber to the premises

Call up and check if it's normal - that's too low to just accept.