That is why fibre broadband is ideal since it uses fibre optics, aka light, to transmit data. Which broadband is fast enough?įor the best speeds, you're going to want a no-limits line that means a future-proof connection. So by having a larger bandwidth pool to drink from, all your devices are going to be satisfied, so to speak. The result can be slower connections on the devices you're actively using. That can mean that devices are talking to your router and using up data while you're not actually doing anything. In the age of the smarthome there can be lots of gadgets vying for a chunk of your bandwidth. It can even mean dropped connections and an inability to use certain devices. It can mean waiting for downloads of files and photos, lower quality video streaming or that constant buffering alert. If your broadband is slow, you won't need to be told why more speed is better. Minus that from the speed you're supposed to get and you'll see the difference.

Then run a speed test and see what you're getting. One way to check what you need is to get everything running at once – kids on tablets and consoles, smart gadgets playing music, the TV streaming 4K content and a laptop downloading. Netflix, for example, recommends at 25Mb line if you want to stream in UHD 4K with HDR to really take advantage of a TV displaying your favourite shows. But as a broad measure, to stream HD video and use multiple device at once on your Wi-Fi network, you're going to want at least a 2Mb line. Of course what speed you need depends on what you're doing. You'll have a slower upload speed than download, which is normal. Once you know this, you have an idea of where you stand in relation to the speed options out there right now.

10Mb (normal ADSL internet) roughly translates into download speeds of 1.25MB per second, while 35Mb fibre broadband takes that up to over 4MB per second.įirst thing's first, you need to establish the speed you're getting by using this broadband speed test. Mb - sometimes displayed as Mbps - means 'Megabits per second' and is an easy way to compare the average speeds offered by broadband companies.

What is a good download speed for wifi