Video game consoles, smart home items, TVs, tablets, phones, laptops, and more. The holiday season is fast approaching, which means it's time to figure out if your wi-fi is fast enough for all the new gadgets your family is getting.
Having high-speed internet is essential, especially during the holidays. Connecting new gadgets to your wi-fi might slow down the loading speeds for everyone connected. With so many devices in use, you need to make sure you have the bandwidth to support them all so everyone can enjoy their gadgets.
What is bandwidth?
Before you can even figure out how much bandwidth you need, you need to understand what it is. Bandwidth is defined as the amount of data that can be transferred through your network connection, typically measured in Mbps (megabits per second). Each device requires a certain amount of data and if there isn’t enough, your internet can slow down. This is different from internet speed. Remember, bandwidth is just the amount of information transferred at a time. Internet speed is how fast information can be received or downloaded. Think of bandwidth as the car and internet speed is how fast the car reaches the destination. Each device requires a certain amount of data and if there isn’t enough, your internet can slow down. Too many devices can result in a traffic jam, and you need enough bandwidth to prevent that.
The more devices connected to your wi-fi network, the more your bandwidth is split among each device. This is what causes slow speeds if you don’t have enough bandwidth for all the internet usage going on at a time.
(Are internet speed and bandwidth the same thing?)
How much bandwidth do I need?
The amount of bandwidth you need depends on your family and how many devices you’ll have connected. What devices need to be connected to the internet? What new gadgets are you getting that will need wi-fi? Want an opinion on what internet plan your home needs? Fill out our Internet Speed Analyzer to get our internet plan recommendation based on your household.
During this holiday season make sure you have the bandwidth for your family to enjoy their new gadgets and all different forms of entertainment. Happy holidays from our All West family to yours!