Choosing an Internet service is confusing and demanding, especially with all the technical terms and marketing terms.
Make no mistake, ISPs benefit from being aware, and the more you get confused as a potential customer, the easier it is, and more likely, to pay more for less.
This article aims to resolve this confusion and help you understand the marketing terms so you know exactly what your options are.
The importance of speed
One of the first things you should consider when looking for an Internet service is how you will actually use it. If you use it primarily to browse or watch the occasional YouTube video, you will need less speed than someone who is really interested in online games.
Whatever speed you end up with, it will determine how quickly you can access the information and what video and audio quality you will have.
Measuring the speed can be confusing and complicated. Just know that it is usually measured by downloaded megabits per second, or Mbps for short, and that 1000 Mbps equals 1Gbps.
It is very likely that Internet packages offer something in the range of Mbps, but if you are looking for faster service, you may be able to find 1 Gbps through fiber optics (see below).
It is also useful to know the difference between "bandwidth" and "speed". Bandwidth refers to the speed capability of the network, while speed refers to how fast the information travels across the bandwidth.
A good way to distinguish them could be to think of bandwidth as a road with several lanes. In this example, the speed would be the speed limit or the traffic flow. A one-lane highway will be more limited than a five-lane highway, especially if you share the highway with someone who can not go to the speed limit. Of course, there will always be speed limits of some kind.
Because of this inconsistent fluctuation in speeds, ISPs usually offer a range of speeds to accommodate peak times when everyone uses their internet at the same time, usually at night. This would be like having a traffic jam on the highway bandwidth (and this is more likely to happen if you have Internet cable, which I will explain in a moment).
Upload vs download speeds
The only difference between the upload speed and the download speed is the data address: the downloaded files are taken from the Internet, while the uploaded files are transmitted to the Internet.
In general, ISPs only emphasize download speeds when they advertise their service, since they believe that most users retrieve data online instead of publishing information on the Internet.
However, if you are interested in publishing your own YouTube videos, using video chat or entering the game, plan to need higher upload speeds.
If so, know that Internet packages tend to be asymmetric, and you're probably looking for a more advanced package with much more download speed than you need to get the upload speed you want.
It's worth mentioning that upload speeds are becoming more important the more we use things like file storage, data backup, cloud services, and more we upload music and video files. All this depends on the load capacities, and all are becoming more normal activities for the casual user of the Internet. [1]
Speed versus need
Although they are great, most of us do not need the high-end speeds that ISPs try to sell us.
For example, you can get ahead with only 3 Mbps if you are using the Internet for basic things like checking email, surfing the Internet and transmitting in a simple way. If you are watching Netflix [2], plan to use from 3 Mbps for standard definition and 25 Mbps for Ultra HD streaming. [3]
Of course, this only works if you have a computer in the house connected directly to your modem.
If you have more people who use more devices in your home, and if they are wireless, then you will need more bandwidth. In this case, plan to need between 30 and 40 Mbps. Anything higher is better, of course, but this range will help avoid things like waiting for the videos to load or the pages to load.
For more intense needs (such as HD streaming, game downloads, etc.), that number increases.
Types of broadband connections:
Broadband is a general term that describes several types of high-speed Internet connections, which require a minimum of 25 Mbps download / 3 Mbps load. [4] The most common types of broadband internet are the digital line Subscriber (DSL), cable, satellite and fiber.
DSL
DSL is at the lower end of broadband connections.
The good thing about DSL is that it is generally the cheapest internet and can offer reasonable speeds anywhere from 15 Mbps to 100 Mbps. It is also a good alternative to the slower peak time speeds that come with cable Internet.
The disadvantage of DSL is that the actual speed ends up being less than advertised as it moves away from the facilities that send the service. [5]
Cable
Cable Internet uses cable TV coaxial cables and is generally faster than DSL, offering speeds above 100 Mbps.
I say "in general" because there is not a big gap between the two, and even this depends on some factors (like how many people use it and when, and how the home network is configured).
A major disadvantage of the cable is that its bandwidth is shared by everyone in its neighborhood and will slow down significantly during peak hours (usually at night).
satelite
The satellite connects to your home wirelessly using, you guessed it, the satellites. Satellite services tend to be slower than cable and DSL services, which generally offer speeds below 20 Mbps (but this is improving all the time). [6]
The satellite has extended Internet access to more rural and underdeveloped areas, which is good, however, it has some problems.
The main drawback of the satellite is its problem with ping and latency.
Ping refers to the act of sending a message or data from one device to another, while latency refers to the amount of time it takes to receive the transmission.
The satellite tends to have a high latency, which means a slower connection.
The big problem here is that ISPs will only announce bandwidth or speed, not latency, which will reduce the advertised speed for the user.
Personally, I would avoid the satellite unless I have no other choice.
Optical fiber
The fiber optic service was designed specifically for the Internet and is the fastest with speeds from 500 Mbps up to 1 Gbps.
While a fiber connection offers the best available speeds, there are minor versions that can compromise this service.
Fiber to the Home (FTTH) is considered the service connection, bringing fiber directly to the user's home and offering the lowest latency and the highest speeds.
Most likely, customers will receive a "hybrid coaxial fiber" connection already installed in the home using a coaxial cable. The term "fiber" allows ISPs and cable providers to suggest the high quality of a fiber network without having to go through the headache of actually connecting the "Fiber to the home".
Instead, they provide "Fiber to the Node" (FTTN) that connects the fiber network somewhere nearby (and often miles away).
Do not get me wrong, the hybrid fiber coaxial connection still has impressive download speeds that go beyond 200Mbps, but its loading speed is affected. [7]
Here it is important to know what you are buying, especially if you have the download speed of 1 Gbps offered by FTTH.
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