The Bandwidth Speeds Breakdown

Bandwidth Speeds: How Much Do I Need?

Choosing a service plan can be confusing for new customers. You might wonder why you have to choose from plans in the first place. Here, we’ll try to explain what exactly these plans mean, and help you figure out what best serves you.
 
Why doesn’t everyone have the fastest internet possible?

Think of bandwidth as a giant, multi-laned highway. Your ISP (Internet Service Provider) controls thousands of lanes of traffic. The cars constantly zipping down the lanes are information.

When you sign up with an ISP, they give you a certain number of “lanes” for your use. The more “lanes” you have, the faster you can download complete files. While the speed of the cars doesn’t ever change, someone with 6 lanes of traffic will finish a download faster than someone with only 1.

This is why ISPs charge different amounts for different service speeds – there are a finite number of “lanes” an ISP can give out. So ISPs instead try to promote systems where customers can pay for just the number of lanes they’d use. That way, customers who need very little bandwidth don’t have to pay extra, and it frees up bandwidth for people who do want to use it.
 
So how much do I need?

For reference, one of Socket’s most popular packages is up to 3 Mbps. This is typically great for customers who just want to check their email, browse Facebook, and watch a couple of Youtube videos. However, if you stream HD video to a large screen, or have multiple people in the household trying to use high bandwidth services like Netflix or online gaming simultaneously, up to 6 Mpbs or more can prevent slowdown.

Anything else I should know about different plans?

What some companies will do in addition to limiting bandwidth is attach a data cap. This is a limit on the actual amount of information you can download; to reference the earlier analogy, you’re only allowed so many cars. Once you hit this limit (usually a monthly one), the provider will either charge an extra fee or severely reduce your bandwidth.  Socket, by the way, doesn’t do this, but if you happen to be comparing plans, make sure to read the fine print. Some providers will penalize you for going over 5 GB in a month – which can be as few as five movies or a few hours of gaming.