Minimum Speed - Required
3 Mbps
Very casual use, email and occasional surfing
10 Mbps
Online gaming and HD video streaming
25 Mbps
Multiple heavy users(streaming data such as HD video, gaming, etc.)
General - Internet Speed You Need
| Operation | 20+ Mbps | 10–20 Mbps | 6–10 Mbps | 4–6 Mbps | 2–4 Mbps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Web Surfing & Email No Video Streaming | |||||
| Medium Speed Web Surfing Good for Low Quality Video (720p) | |||||
| High Speed Web Surfing High Quality Video Streaming (1080p) | |||||
| High Quality Video Streaming (1080p) High Speed Downloads / Business-Grade Connection | |||||
| Several High Bandwidth Apps High Quality Video Conferencing |
Download and Upload - Internet Speed Typical Usage Cases
| Broadband Download Speed | Typical Use |
|---|---|
| 0.5 Mbps (Mega bits per second) | If speeds are constitent should be sufficient for audio streaming, email and very basic web browsing. |
| 1 Meg (Mbps) | Basic video streaming should work and standard web pages. |
| 2 Meg (Mbps) | Standard definition (SD) video from BBC iPlayer should be possible. |
| 5 Meg (Mbps) | Should allow High Definition (HD - 1080p) video streaming to run smoothly. |
| 8 Meg (Mbps) | Should be able to support video streaming and other activities at the same time without buffering. |
| 15 Meg (Mbps) | Connection will support a few video streams and other activity at the same time. |
| 25 Meg (Mbps) | Should be able to to stream pre-recorded Ultra HD video (UHD - 4k) smoothly. |
| 40 Meg (Mbps) | Should be able to to stream live Ultra HD video (UHD - 4k) smoothly. |
| Broadband Upload Speed | Typical Use |
|---|---|
| 0.1 Mbps (Mega bits per second) | Enough to send simple text emails. |
| 0.4 Meg (Mbps) | Online gaming should be possible, remember gaming is very latency sensitive. |
| 0.8 Meg (Mbps) | Webcam video streams over Skype etc should be reasonable quality |
| 2 Meg (Mbps) | HD Webcam streaming may be possible. |
| 10 Meg (Mbps) | Uploading 200MB of holiday video to the cloud will take around 4 to 5 minutes |