What is a fast internet speed | MB/s vs mbps | How Comcast Measures Internet Speed or Bandwidth

What is a Fast internet speed?

Lets face it. Everyone wants a fast internet connection, but choosing an internet provider (ISP) is difficult enough without trying to understand what speed and plan to go with. Cable and phone companies selling internet services often try to make comparing plans as difficult as possible.

The Internet speed for you

So what is considered fast internet connection speed? The term fast internet is relative. The average user simply browsing the internet and downloading the occasional album or movie from iTunes would be well suited with a 20 Mbps broadband internet connection. However, a music or video producer collaborating with other artists via the internet may require faster internet speed to make collaborations across networks and cities as quick as possible. It is important to have a general understanding of the terminology and notation associated with broadband internet speeds, and which speed is most appropriate/economical for your needs.

Do I need a faster internet speed?

If you are an average user with broadband internet, odds are your current speed is adequate for your needs.  A minimum of 0.5 Mbps is required for streaming the lowest quality video from Netflix. Additionally Netflix recommends a broadband connection of at least 5 Mbps download speed for streaming HD video.

Do I need to check my internet speed?

When in doubt check it out. There are various online tools that will perform an internet speed test freely and quickly. One of the most popular and well used internet speed checker can be found at Speedtest.net.

Mbps vs MBps

Safari download in MB/s

When copying, transferring, or downloading files you may have noticed that the download speed is monitored in either KB/s or MB/s. KB/s or Kilobytes per second is quite different than kbps when comparing speed. The lower case kbps stands for kilo bits per second. MB/s or Megabytes per second is also quite different than mbps or megabits per second.

Upper case "B" represents a byte which is made up of 8 bits (lower case b).

Good Internet Provider Speed

Most internet service providers, like Comcast/Xfinity, measure their internet speeds in bits per second, often mega bits per second (Mbps). When trying to figure out which speed is right for your needs this can become confusing.

A 30 Mbps internet connection actually equates to 3.75 MB/s (mega bytes per second). Since each byte contains 8 bits, dividing the advertised speed in mega bits per second by 8 bits will give you the speed in bytes per second or B/s.

fcc.gov

Which Internet is Faster?

In order to be sure you actually get faster internet and find the best internet provider, look at the chart above. In 2013 the FCC's Office of Engineering and Technology and Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau published "A Report on Consumer Wireline Broadband Performance in the U.S." Actual vs advertised speed varies from ISP to ISP. At 15 Mbps Comcast provided a little over 100% of the advertised speed however, some ISPs performed well above their advertised speed. i.e. Verizon Fios.




Sources:
Wikipedia
FCC.gov