Today’s Internet is more sophisticated than ever before, and innovations in speed and throughput have only made the future look faster. Graphics take longer to load at slower speeds, and functions that require good latency, like video games and streaming movies or music, also have required Internet speeds to run efficiently.
We do a lot of important things online, too. Job applications are mostly online, and government assistance applications are almost exclusively online. Schools of all grades from kindergarten to college are using online communications to hold classes, with some students rarely setting foot in a classroom.
Internet access is rapidly becoming a more important part of everyday life. People are fulfilling their everyday needs, from groceries to medicines to household items, by shopping online. Internet users can even have routine doctor visits from the privacy of their own living rooms.
So how does this all affect the amount of speed you need for your home Internet?
The more speed you have, the faster the web pages you visit will load. Many cities offer gigabyte (GB) speeds of 1000 Mbps as the standard, and locales with a lot of infrastructures, such as smaller cities and large towns, usually have 100 Mbps plans available. Some areas might only have from 12 to 25 Mbps available, but even these speeds can be adequate for Internet use. You can check what Internet plans and speeds are available by utilizing this website or calling 1-833-933-2468.
Two other important factors to consider are throughput and latency. Throughput means that Internet traffic travels both ways smoothly. This means that your requests (such as typing in a web address) are sent efficiently and that they are answered (the website fully loaded on your browser) promptly. Slow throughput can make even the fastest speeds lag, especially during periods of high traffic.
Latency refers to how complete the data that passes through the system remains during transfer. Sometimes data suffer what is known as “packet loss,” which is when it becomes distorted and loads slowly. This is usually a result of a need for infrastructure maintenance or outdated receiver equipment, but can also occur if you are running an app or program that requires more speed than you have. Fast speeds can prevent latency.
Once you know what plans you have available to you, the next step is to examine the Internet use in your home. This is dependent on many factors because there are a lot of devices that need the Internet to operate. Business owners can use the same parameters to examine use in the workplace.
So what factors can help you determine a good Internet speed for your use?
In the early days of the Internet, the only way to get online was by dial-up through your telephone line. It could be interrupted by call waiting or tying up the phone line for the entire house, plus provided slow Internet. That was okay back then because web pages were simple and didn’t need the speed.
Today, high-speed Internet is required for a lot of Internet activities. Even looking at a web store or checking email is more complex behind the scenes than it was in those first days, mainly to bring more convenience to users. As Internet speeds have gotten faster through 2G, 3G, 4G, and now 4G LTE, large files, high-resolution graphics, and embedded videos are almost always on websites. 5G is poised to make this even faster, as shown in the cities where it is available.
So what types of Internet services are out there, and what do they have to do with speed?
If you want to know what types of Internet are available in your area, just put your zip code into Compare Internet, or call 1-833-933-2468. You can find out if you have the speed you need, or if there are better deals in your area than your current service. The Internet is getting faster, and keeping up is just a click away!