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How Much Internet Speed Does Your Business Need?
Finding a reliable internet service is one of the most essential concerns when choosing services for your business. Several factors can affect your internet speed and you must consider all of them to perfectly meet your business requirements. Even the best internet service packages like Spectrum internet plans are generally priced based on speed, so you could choose the one that best fits your needs and budget.
So, what speed you require for your business? Read on to find out!
Table of Contents
- How Much Internet Speed Does Your Business Need?
- Internet Speed – Definition
- What are Download & Upload Speeds?
- Average Business Internet Speeds
- Common Business Activities and Bandwidth Estimates
- Bottom Line
Internet Speed – Definition
Internet speed is basically how much data you can download or upload in a second. This includes the whole network, so if two users are uploading files simultaneously, upload speed is halved for each of them.
What are Download & Upload Speeds?
Your internet connection has two speeds – one for downloading and the second for uploading. Download speed impacts your file receiving process like music, images, documents, etc. While the upload speed includes sending files.
According to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), if your internet usage includes more downloading activities like showing videos to clients or streaming training content regularly, then you need at least 25 Mbps minimum speed to meet your daily connectivity needs.
It is easy to get an internet plan with your desired download speeds but do not overlook upload speeds. If you have to send large files to customers, a few seconds or minutes can turn into long waiting when information takes forever to load.
To prevent unplanned delays, get a strong 4G LTE connection. It should be enough to meet your most upload needs especially if your colleagues work remotely or are distributed across several locations. However, if your employees need to upload or download files daily or carry out other resource-intensive tasks, then you must get a high-speed internet connection of at least 100 Mbps or more.
Average Business Internet Speeds
One of the most baffling things when selecting the internet speed for your business is determining the upload and download speed. For example, if your internet service provider promises to deliver a speed of up to 30/5 Mbps, the first number represents the download speed, and the second one is the upload speed. So, 30/5 means you can access 30 Mbps of download speed and 5 Mbps of upload speed. For businesses, the most common speed options are 5/1, 10/1, 30/5, and 50/10 Mbps.
Also, internet speeds vary from business to business depending upon several factors, like the type of your business, the total number of employees, etc. On average, most businesses require an average internet speed of nearly 19 Mbps.
Common Business Activities and Bandwidth Estimates
Here is a list of some of the common business activities and the estimated internet speeds you need to perform them:
| Activity | Internet Speed (Estimated) |
| Sending a basic email | 1 Mbps |
| Preparing a cloud backup | 2 Mbps |
| Cloud-based services | 5 Mbps |
| Cloud computing | 2 Mbps |
| Transferring data | 2 Mbps |
| Sending email with attachments | 15 Mbps |
| Sharing files | 500 Kbps – 5 Mbps |
| Browsing the web | 333 Kbps – 0.33 Mbps |
| General internet usage | 1 Mbps |
| Watching a high-resolution video | 4 Mbps |
| Sending instant messages | 500 Kbps – 5 Mbps |
| Bookkeeping and online banking | 2 Mbps |
| Conducting research online | 333 Kbps – 33 Mbps |
| Social media scheduling | 200 Kbps – 2 Mbps |
| Streaming a webinar (normal resolution) | 5 Mbps |
| Streaming training courses (normal resolution) | 5 Mbps |
| Uploading photos | 5 Mbps |
| Uploading large files | 2 Mbps |
| Online video conferencing | 4 Mbps |
| VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) calls | 100 Kbps – 1 Mbps |
| VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) video calls | 28 Mbps |
Keep in mind that all of these estimates are for a single user only. For multiple users, just multiply each activity’s speed by the total number of employees or devices in your office. Once done, sum all the activities together and you will get a rough estimate of the average internet speeds you require to fulfill your business needs.
Once you have proper knowledge about the needs of your employees and business overall, discuss your requirements with a good internet service provider. Check all the packages tailored specifically for different businesses before making a final decision.
Bottom Line
Remember that speed matters the most in deciding on a suitable internet connection for your business. If you try to scale back on this area, this could fire-back in the form of long waiting or an impediment in way of productivity in other critical areas. So, when it comes to choosing the internet speed for your business, you must make the right choice – Good luck!
Kenneth is a proud native of sydney, born and raised there. However, he pursued his education abroad and studied in Australia. Kenneth has worked as a journalist for almost a decade, making valuable contributions to prominent publications such as Yahoo News and The Verge. Currently, he serves as a journalist for The Hear Up, where he focuses on covering climate and science news. You can reach Kenneth at [email protected].
