The internet is a very important aspect of human existence today. It is the foundation of every activity today. It is relevant in all sectors of the world economy and the social existence of man. The internet is used to study, disseminate information, transact business, and use for leisure activities, among so many other uses. Simply put, man has evolved to a point where it seems like it is impossible to exist without the internet. There are different internet providers across the world, and depending on the region you find yourself in, these service providers strive to provide what is called a fast and reliable internet network connection. For more information on what fast internet speed means, check this article.
What Is Fast Internet Speed?
As mentioned earlier, the internet is used for several activities which require it to be fast and reliable to yield good speed test results so that you are able to get things done. Internet speed is measured by Mbps meaning megabytes per second. In other words, the number of megabytes you can use per second to complete whatever activity you are doing over the internet.
For example, if you want to download one gig file from the internet, would you rather use a network that has 7mbps or 25mbps? The answer is simple; you would rather opt for a network that downloads at a speed of 25mbps than 7mbps. It is quite simple. Another thing you should consider about internet speed is that the higher the speed, the better the network is able to handle multiple internet activities.
An internet speed of 100mbps will conveniently handle multiple internet activities at a very fast rate. The average internet speed standard is known to be 25mbps for downloads and 3mbps for uploads.
How Is Internet Speed Measured?
The speed of an internet connection is usually determined by how much data the connection can download or upload per second. These are called download and upload speeds. These are majorly the activities that we do over the internet. It is either we are downloading something or uploading something.
The speed of your internet determines how smooth these activities will be. Breaking it down, internet speed is shown as bits per second (bps). Thousands of bits per second are used during your activities over the internet; it is then converted to kilobyte per second (Kbps), Megabyte per second (Mbps), and Giga Gbps), depending on what your internet speed is. These all show how many thousands of bites are transferred per second.
The metrics used are as follows, Kilo (k) is 1,000 bites, Mega (M) is 1,000k (1,000,000 bites) Giga (G) is 1,000M (1,000,000,000 bites).
Upload Speed & Download Speed
These two speeds mean two different things and apply to two different activities on the internet. Here is what they mean:
Upload Speed
This is used to determine how quickly your internet connection can send data from your device to the internet. For example, if you want to send a file to a friend over a social media platform like WhatsApp, the upload speed is how long it takes for the file to send from your device to the recipient over the internet.
Another example is youtube. You make a video, and you want to upload it for your subscribers to view. The upload speed is how long it takes for your video to be posted on the platform. Upload speed is important for video conferencing and uploading large files. These are important in more formal settings like offices.
Download Speed
This is the opposite of upload speed. Using the WhatsApp analogy, as the recipient, your download speed will be how long it took you to download what was sent to you on your device. It is basically how quickly your internet connection can retrieve data from the internet (web pages, videos, photos, etc.).
Using the YouTube analogy, your download speed will be how fast your internet can load the video uploaded by someone to watch. Download speed is important generally because that is what supports streaming, music download, and browsing on social media. You do not want to be stuck with a slow internet while performing these activities.
For an average user, the download speed is said to be more important than the upload speed. This is because most of our activities over the internet are mostly about retrieving data from the internet, moving from one page to another, watching videos, and so many other things.
The only time you get to notice upload speed is when you want to share a large file over the internet. It has been said that the standard internet speed should be a minimum of 25mbps as download speed and a minimum of 3mbps as upload speed. This should be good enough for any internet activity.
What Type of Internet Has The Fastest Speed
The two types of internet that are known for speed are Cable internet and Fiber optic internet. Out of the two, fiber-optic internet is known to be the best and consistently fast internet. Cable internet sometimes can be impacted during peak times when traffic is much, but the fiber optic internet is able to maintain its speed, even during peak times.
What Difference Does It Make?
In this day and age, I think the difference between a slow internet and a fast internet is clear. The majority of people spend a large part of their day, and all of them will tell you that they would rather use a fast internet than a slow or even an average speed internet.
The difference can be seen in enjoying your streamed HD movie uninterrupted, having a seamless meeting without struggling to hear the others or vice versa. It could also be sending large files over the internet at neck-breaking speed or waiting till the next day to get the file. Imagine uploading a 5-minute video for two hours. That is the difference. Depending on your internet activity, we all need fast internet speed.
