What Download Speed???????

[BostonDan]

Hi - I'm having a tough time evaluating what download speed is best for my usage. Almost every day, we have the following running simultaneously:
(4) devices streaming movies/TV,
(2) Xboxes playing fortnite,
(2) Devices utilizing Facetime,
(4) Computers online (work and school),
(1) VoIP Phone, and
(4) Smart speakers/assistants

All of the devices connect to the network wirelessly to a Netgear R7800 Nighthawk. Is there a formula for calculating what download speed internet connection I should get? Thoughts?

 

[coxhaus]

What do you have now and is it working?

 

[BostonDan]

Right now I have 600Mbps download speed and its working fine but I am wondering if 600Mbps is overkill or if 1Gbps would provide a better experience. I don’t have a good understanding of where the bottleneck is.


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[dosborne]

(4) devices streaming movies/TV,
(2) Xboxes playing fortnite,

These are the most likely (IMO) to have the highest potential for issues relating to speed. IF you aren't experiencing issue now, then there is little point in upgrading unless the cost differential is minimal. If you are experiencing issues with gaming or streaming, then obviously an increase in ISP speed may help.

The only other suggestion I would have, and it completely depends on how important it is to you and how often you use it, would be to give priority to VOIP.

In general though, only you can decide what is important, what is or is not working well. Too many variables and there are no real guidelines. You need to take a look at network statistic (if available) to see if you are anywhere close to maximum levels. Concurrency of usage is also a very important factor.

 

[L&LD]

That download speed of 600Mbps should be fine. What is the upload speed and will it increase if you go to the 1Gbps plan?

 

[MichaelCG]

I bet your WiFi is more of your bottleneck than anything else. L&LD raised a good point...upload speeds may have more impact at this point. If you have 600/10, that 10Mbps is easy to saturate. So that needs to be take into account.

Very rarely does anyone "need" more than 100Mbps for most general use. Higher can be useful in some situations, but usually not "required" to function.

 

[coxhaus]

In cable systems upload is your bottle neck. Do you back up to the cloud? Do it when nobody it on the network.

Be careful with voice systems as they will saturate your upload if you run enough of them. 10 meg is a problem for all of us in our new virtual remote world. If you upgrade your speed it is because you need more upload speed.