Question Please Explain Internet Usage Gigabyte = MBPS

[mymorgi]

I'm looking to 'cut' Comcast cord tv/home phone plan and just go with internet provider and one of the stream providers out there. And I was told by Xfinity rep that my current monthly internet usage is 300-500 gigabytes and that to maintain that 'speed' I would need to go with a carrier that offers at least 800 mbps to avert 'buffering'. Could someone please explain if this is accurate or what I might actually need in terms of streaming w/o 'buffering'?

 

[lvt]

Monthly usage has nothing to do with Internet speed but how long you stay online.

 

[hotaru.hino]

They're probably trying to tell you that your usage pattern suggests how much speed you need to avoid congestion. i.e., for the times you and anyone else in the house really uses the internet, you require more bandwidth than what the internet connection allows.

But unless you have 40+ 4K streams going on at the same time or you really need that 100+GB game from Steam yesterday, 800Mbps is overkill.

 

[Math Geek]

a 1080p stream needs about 5 Mb/s. so even 4 or 5 people all streaming at once is less than 30 Mb/s needed!! some extra overhead so everyone can be online at once and 100 Mb/s starts looking like overkill.

as noted above, your usage pattern and speed are 2 different things. no idea what the person told you meant but it's not clear at all.

here's a nice link on streaming needs to help you figure out what speed you may need

What Internet Speed Do I Need for Streaming Services?

If your primary internet activity is streaming video it makes sense to ensure you have enough bandwidth to enjoy it. Here’s a breakdown of how much bandwidth various streaming services and resolutions require.

www.howtogeek.com

i have GB service because it was cheap on special. sure it's nice to download at over 100 MB/s but in reality it's not needed or used fully. really look at price and what you get. 100 Mb/s might be $25 and 500 might be $40. to me it would be worth it for the relatively small bump in price. but $100 for 500 Mb/s and i'm staying at the lower speed for much less. hope that makes sense.

 

[kanewolf]

I'm looking to 'cut' Comcast cord tv/home phone plan and just go with internet provider and one of the stream providers out there. And I was told by Xfinity rep that my current monthly internet usage is 300-500 gigabytes and that to maintain that 'speed' I would need to go with a carrier that offers at least 800 mbps to avert 'buffering'. Could someone please explain if this is accurate or what I might actually need in terms of streaming w/o 'buffering'?

WAN speed is only one factor with streamed video. Your home LAN infrastructure matters also. For the best streaming, use wired connectivity to your streaming devices. Why? Because wired devices have dedicated bandwidth to the router. WIFI devices share bandwidth and WIFI is half-duplex, so each device can receive or transmit, but not both at the same time.

 

[ARICH5]

id like to add as long as were clear 800Mb/s converts to 100MB/s...thats like corporation and office building speeds. way overkill for youtube videos and streaming. (imo) im happy with my 250Mb/s service at 31MB/s. i can watch 4k yt videos with no buffering easy.

 

[mymorgi]

Thank you so much. I knew I came to the right place for the best answers!