Latency – Latency measures the delay in data transfer, telling you how fast data gets from a source to its destination.Download – Download speed tells you how quickly information from external sources is received by your router.This is the smallest unit of computer information, so you’ll often see internet speeds referred to as megabits per second (Mbps). Bit – Internet speed is measured in bits per second (bps).This is significant for determining how many devices can connect to the network at a time. With more bandwidth, more data can be transferred through a specific network. Bandwidth – Bandwidth measures the total number of frequencies, or capacity, a network connection can handle at any moment.When understanding internet speeds and how they work, it’s helpful to arm yourself with some handy definitions: Internet speed glossary: terms you should know If each person in your household of four uses two devices at a time (a smartphone and a laptop, for example), consider a plan between 200 and 300 Mbps (300/8 = 37.5). However, if everyone in your household uses multiple devices simultaneously, you will want to consider a slightly faster plan. For instance, if you have a household of four people who only use one device at a time, a plan of around 100 Mbps will be best (100/4 = 25). You will want the result of that equation to be between 25 and 40 Mbps. Therefore, instead of following the FCC’s definition of high-speed internet, it is more useful to follow this rule of thumb for determining your internet speed needs:ĭivide the number of devices in your household by the speed plan you are considering. However, this is a fairly outdated definition, especially when you apply this definition to households containing more than one person (which is most households). Currently, the FCC defines high-speed internet as 25 Mbps 1.

What is a fast download speed for wifi