How broadband speed is measured?
Bandwidth or connection speed refers to the capacity of the broadband line to transfer digital data between the users. It is measured in Kbps (kilobits per second) and Mbps (megabits per second) and also denoted by KB and MB respectively.
Note: Kilobytes (KB) and Megabytes (MB) that refer to the size of the files are quite different.
| Bandwidth | Web page(200KB size) | Music track (5 min) or 5MB size | DVD quality video(700MB) |
| Dial-up (56 Kbps) | 30 Secs | 13 min | 30 hrs |
| 512Kb | 3.5 Sec | 2 min | 4 hrs 45 mins |
| 2MB | Less than 1 sec | 25 secs | 1 hr 15 mins |
| 8MB | Faster | Less than 2 sec | 12 mins |
| 16MB | Faster | Faster | 6 mins |
How to find out which speed will suit my requirements?
Whatever you have planned to use internet for, it is important that you should be able to do the tasks reasonably faster without the pangs of waiting. Different tasks require different speeds for better performance. It is not advisable to use slower connection for activities that may really need high speeds. Likewise, high speeds, when you actually don't require, will serve no purpose but is sheer waste of money.
Surfing internet and email
If you want to take broadband for only web surfing or sending or receiving emails, an entry level broadband connection with 512 Kbps or 1Mbps will allow you to do these things quickly and with ease.
However, you may find many packages to compare in the 1Mbps - 2Mbps range at competitive prices. As you can do these tasks quite comfortably with these speeds, just make sure that you get cheaper deal with additional useful features.
File downloading
If you plan to download anything like music albums, games, videos, movies and software updates from web sources as much frequently as you wish, then you should seriously think about high speed packages. With a 512 broadband connection, the download time of a mp3 song (5 min) will be around one and half a minute. Just compare the download time of the same song with 2MB or 4MB or 8MB connection. Needless to say, with faster connections, you can make download time much shorter as well as increase the number of downloads at one time.
A few sites allow you only to stream music or video meaning you should have faster connection to listen or watch such things while they are getting downloaded. With live videos, the speed is the biggest factor. 8MB connection can enable you to view streaming views in full screen mode and with fine picture quality.
Net phone calls (VoIP)
For making VoIP calls, a standard 1MB broadband can do, however, make sure that your ISP offers reliable speeds as this application is bandwidth sensitive.
Television over broadband (IPTV)
If you are a techno-savvy and don't want to miss high quality stuff like DVD quality movies and high definition video on internet, 8MB broadband and super-fast broadband services (ADSL +2) allow you to enjoy content on internet. Internet Protocol TV or Video on Demand services like BBC iPlayer, BT Vision, Channel 4 and ITV offer a wide range of videos, TV programmes, movies and live sports channels over internet to its customers.
Online gaming
Faster connection like 8MB broadband is excellent option for people who go for online gaming. PlusNet has launched its Pro package exclusively for online gamers with 8MB download speed and prioritized traffic to its gaming servers. Latest game consoles like PS3 and Xbox 360 can be directly connected to internet, you can play all interactive online games, however, make sure that the speed suits the requirements of the online games you want to play.
|
