This is an article excerpt from our Winter 2019 newsletter. The full newsletter contains other relevant articles, Huxley happenings, contact information and more! Click here to download a PDF of the newsletter

Four Tips to Help You Pick Your Internet Speeds

Are you confused about which download and upload internet speeds to select? You’re not alone. With so many issues factoring into speed selection, there’s no single “magic formula” to instantly tell you which plan would work best for your household. However, we did pull together these general tips to help guide you to making a good decision:
1. Netflix says you need 5 Mbps to stream HD content and 25 Mbps for 4K Ultra HD content, but you’ll want faster speeds if you plan to connect several devices at once. If you’re planning to stream 4K video content and have multiple devices connecting to your network simultaneously, you may want to consider a high-level download speed in the 100 -200 Mbps range.

2. Remember your internet connection is shared between all the people, devices, and apps at your house. So you might need a faster download speed if several people wanted to watch Netflix in HD at the same time or if you wanted to use Netflix at high-quality while simultaneously downloading a large video game or other large file. Chances are, if your current download speed isn’t sufficient, you’ll hear grumbling from family members about video buffering and other annoying slowdowns.

3. Upload speeds can be especially important for people working remotely from home. This is because upload speeds impact tasks such as screen sharing, syncing files to Dropbox, and online conference calls/meetings. While download speeds tend to get most of the attention, don’t forget to make sure you’re also getting the upload speed that works for you.

4. You may want to “test drive” a faster internet plan. Sometimes the only way to fully appreciate what a higher speed will do for you is to experience it firsthand while you do your normal online activities.

To get answers to your questions about internet speed selection, talk to a member of the Huxley Communications team at 515-597-2281.