Fast internet speeds are required by streamers and they tend to subscribe to internet service providers that offer high internet speeds. The culture of watching movies and music online keeps growing worldwide as more local content is uploaded on sites like YouTube or more subscriptions to Netflix or Tidal But before you spring for the most expensive plan you can get, think about the online activities you enjoy and the number of users and devices in your home to see which internet speeds you really need.
Also Read: 5 Ways to increase your WiFi speeds
When talking about internet speeds, there are buzz words like “bandwidth”. “data”, “Mbps” and “Mbs” which are always thrown around. In laymen’s terms, bandwidth refers to how quickly you can download and upload data from the internet data to your computer. Bandwidth is measured in megabits per second, or Mbps or Mbs, and the more bandwidth you have, the faster your internet speeds.
If you are using a WiFi router or modem, the amount of bandwidth you get with your high-speed internet plan is divided amongst all the users and devices in your household, so you’ll need to consider your typical internet activities to know how much bandwidth you need. Keep in mind that activities like streaming and gaming tend to take up more bandwidth than casual web browsing.
Internet Speeds recommended for common streaming activities
| Streaming activity | Minimum recommended speed |
| Spotify or Tidal high-quality music streaming | 320 Kbps |
| Netflix or YouTube video streaming | 2 – 4 Mbps |
| Video game streaming with FullHD and 60 fps | 4 – 6 Mbps |
| High-definition video streaming | 5 – 8 Mbps |
| 4K ultra high-definition video streaming | 25 Mbps |
No matter what streaming service you have, you’ll need about 3 Mbps for Standard Definition, up to 8 Mbps for HD and around 25 Mbps for 4K UHD streaming. Also, keep in mind that these recommendations are based on a household that’s only running one online activity at a time.
What will affect your streaming?
The speeds you’re receiving and the internet speeds you initially paid for won’t always be the same. A number of things can affect your internet speeds at any given time, including who’s using your connection and what they’re using it for. For example; the internet connection type, the number of users sharing the internet, the streaming activities being streamed, connection traffic and your internet service provider’s friendly user policy especially when it comes to throttling or limiting your bandwidth.
