There are a lot of internet service advertisements that brag about high speeds and amazing bundle opportunities, but what do all of the numbers and terms mean? How fast is fast enough, and how can you get the right speed without overpaying? To understand internet access and how it affects your specific use, here are a few of the more popular internet tasks along with the way they use your internet connection to figure out what you really use when you're online:
Just A Little Web Browsing
Many people want to avoid overspending, and may not use the internet outside of a few basic research and entertainment tasks. Unfortunately, technology has become so seamless and convenient that the underlying technology isn't appreciated and the errors that happen become far more jarring than in past years.
Visiting a website can be one of the least internet-intensive tasks, but it's not always a simple as using a "little bit of internet" to get the job done. Websites are collections of different types of information, and depending on what the website has on different pages, you may be dealing with basic text or full movies.
The modern internet beyond the year 2000 is a multimedia experience. To get plain text web pages, you need to go out of your way to find sites dedicated to being as simple as possible. This is because the average internet speed for most major countries and their local regions are fast enough to load some fairly nice pictures and even a few videos.
The problem begins when website designers get too ambitious or don't know much about internet use themselves. Some websites include big videos at maximum quality that are essentially like starting huge downloads that take up all of your connections bandwidth (network capacity) or may at least slow your connection down.
Such resource-hogging websites are rare and not usually worth special considerations. Your concern here isn't about getting a good enough connection, but about avoiding budget connections. If you just want to do a little web browsing, make sure that your internet meets the average internet speed in the US.
Video Streaming Sites
Have you replaced your cable service with websites such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, or Crunchyroll? Streaming internet is convenient and looks great on stable connections, but they can still be a bit tricky.
Streaming technology allows information to be sent in small packets and viewed in small parts instead of waiting for the whole file to download and complete. Instead of downloading a movie and waiting for the download to finish, you're watching the information in a torn apart format.
Many years of development, sacrifice, and rage over buffering/skipping/jittery videos have lead to greater expectations. You can enjoy streaming on the average US internet speeds, but keep in mind that other internet tasks at home may suffer. Make sure that your other tasks such as making internet phone calls, playing online games, or downloading large files aren't fighting for a nearly depleted internet bandwidth pool.
To figure out if you need a speed increase, contact an internet service provider and discuss your normal internet use.
