The Internet rates that we can contract have increased speed considerably in recent years. Fiber optics today allows symmetrical 1 Gbps to be commonplace. Some carriers are already starting to offer even more. But do we really need that much speed? Is it worth paying more money for it or are we spending more than we are really going to take advantage of? In this article we will discuss this topic. We are going to explain to you whether or not you really need to have the latest Internet rate for your home.
Few really take advantage of the contracted speed
Many people have the false feeling that hiring a better fiber optic rate will make their Wi-Fi work better. This is not like this. Not in general terms at least. In other words, if the wireless connection does not reach a room in your home well, no matter how much you hire a better speed, you will not have better coverage. Those problems will still be there.
But leaving aside what we are discussing, even in the optimal situation of being connected by cable or Wi-Fi very close to the router, we do not always really take advantage of the contracted speed. In fact, we can say that few really need to have 1 Gbps speed.
Why don’t we really take advantage of having a rate of 1 Gbps? You can take advantage of these rates when you really make intense use of the connection. For example, if you have several computers and mobile phones connected at the same time and using the cloud, downloading large files, viewing streaming content, etc.
We really don’t need a lot of bandwidth for everyday uses. For example, if you want to watch Netflix in 4K or any similar platform, what you need is to have a connection of at least 25 Mbps. Even if you are using 4 devices at the same time to stream content, you would need about 100 Mbps. Far from up to 1 Gbps that many of us contract. Even using the cloud and downloading files on several other computers, we would have plenty to spare with much less speed.
Therefore, we can say that it is normal that few people can really take advantage of the maximum Internet rates. For everyday use, it’s rare to need that much bandwidth. At least at the domestic level.
Expense you can save per month
This means that it is very likely that you can save money each month. For example, if your telephone and Internet company offer you several typical rates such as 300 Mbps, 500 Mbps and 1 Gbps, going from 1 Gbps, which would be the maximum, to an intermediate rate such as 500 Mbps will surely not affect nothing in your day to day. Instead, you will be able to save money. Also, if you don’t have a modern Wi-Fi adapter you’re never going to be able to take advantage of those top speeds if you connect wirelessly.
It is good to have more options to hire Internet and have more available bandwidth. But as we have explained, at least today it is rare that we really need to have the maximum contracted rate. For daily domestic use, it is enough to have much less than that Gigabit that we can hire.
However, all this will depend on what type of user you are, how many people use the connection in your home, etc. A person who lives alone and hardly uses a computer and a mobile is not the same as a family of 5 members and each one has their own computer, uses the cloud a lot, streaming videos, online games, etc.
You can see some recommendations to contract an Internet rate and really check which one best suits what you need. That will help you pay less month to month and you will certainly be able to save good money throughout the year.
