All About Residential Internet Connection Speeds

If you're looking for a new internet service provider, or just hoping to learn more about residential internet technology, it's critical to keep connection speed in mind. Web technology has advanced rapidly over the past decade. Today, slow dial up connections using phone lines are nearly extinct. This is the age of broadband, where data is quickly transferred through optic wires, cable modems, and DSL (Digital Subscriber Lines).

Factors Affecting Connection Speeds

Despite being faster than all predecessors, broadband internet speeds vary greatly. Modern consumers typically begin their quest for speed by researching broadband plans available at one or more internet service providers. Residential speeds generally begin at 256 kilobytes per second, and can range into multiple megabytes per minute. Even faster speeds employed by large organizations and businesses.

Several factors besides the rate promised by an internet service provider can also impact residential speeds. For instance, a slow, outdated router for your internet connection or an antiquated computer can slow access down. The physical interface your provider uses for online connectivity limits speeds too. DSL and cable modems are up to twenty times slower than the latest fiber optic connections.

Brisk connectivity may slow during spikes in online traffic, like during weekday evenings, or unusually hot news trends. Moreover, running certain programs that require a great deal of connectivity, such as top games, will slow down regular web surfing on the same PC, or on other computers in the same household

Determining Your Speed

Although a contract with an internet provider specifies an average expected speed, you should use an online speed test to determine your true internet speed at any moment. Finding a site that won't try to push other products isn't always easy. However, the FCC's consumer broadband page highlights several excellent places to get a free test.

Understanding residential connection rates may seem confusing at first. Yet, cutting through the jargon and approaching this subject with a calm head will ensure you find the information you seek with precision.