Why You Should Actually Care About Upload Speed

When you are in the market for high speed Internet, you are always presented with a number. This number is usually the download speed and is measured in megabits per second, or Mbps. However, this is only one number out of the two that make up your entire internet speed. The second number is the upload speed, which in cases of great internet speed like that offered by Bellingham internet providers, will be the same as the download speed. In some cases, the upload speed can be slow that your “high speed internet” will run more like dial up.

Ok, But What Does Upload Speed Actually Mean?

In very simple terms, your upload speed signifies the amount of date that your computer or electronic device will be able to send in a given second. You can already see how this will affect things like sending emails and uploading picture to social media or online photo albums. What you might not comprehend automatically is that upload speed is put to the test every time you decide to open a new page on your browser. Before your screen can load, your computer must first request the information from the server. Now you can see how this becomes a little more important.

What Do I Need Higher Upload Speeds For?

As you know, technology is always growing and advancing right before our very eyes, and these advances are starting to put a greater demand on upload bandwidth. Some multiplayer online role-playing games have begun to become pretty popular in the recent years and these games can require a significant amount of upload speed. They require a lot of upload speed because the games need to keep a constant two-way communication with the server in order to update your game in real time. Also new products like voice over IP require a substantial amount of upload speed or else you will have trouble with the call connection.

Oh, You Have More Than One Computer In Your House?

The upload bandwidth provided by your internet company has to be shared throughout the entire house. This means that all of the electronic devices using your wireless connection will be eating up some of this speed. Phones, tablets, laptops, video game consoles all require internet and chances are you will be using these simultaneously, so your upload speed will be spread pretty thinly.

Well How Much Speed Do I Really Need?

Upload speed really only accounts for a fraction of all internet traffic, but as we just found out, it can really add up. If you have to little you will be moving at a snails pace, but getting a lot of upload speed can be costly. A general rule of thumb is to look for a six-to-one upload-to-download ratio. There are many free online tools to test your current upload and download speeds, I would advise using these to make sure you are getting what you paid for.

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Categorized as Tech