While working from home has never been a new concept, it has certainly become more common after the lockdown. Thanks to the pandemic, many organizations have found a way and realized that their employees can still work from home as long as they have a proper system and a good internet connection to keep in touch with and submit their work on time. These are the two most important things that you need to effectively work from home.
We understand that you might already be subscribed to an internet service, as it is quite impossible to live without the internet now, however, depending on the internet consumption and the internet speed, you might need to switch your service provider or upgrade to a better plan from the same provider. The first option seems a bit of a hassle and we can’t blame you because the process of switching providers can be needlessly expensive and time-consuming.
It is much easier to just upgrade your plan and continue with the ISP that you already have unless their internet service is extremely unbearable. There’s another added benefit that you can avail yourself of ISPs and it is that you can choose from one of their TV and internet packages. These packages help you to get the best of two services all in one bill. So, you can upgrade your plan and simultaneously go for a package if you are looking for a TV service as well.
Otherwise, you can just choose a good internet plan and just go with that. But anyway, coming back to the topic, you need an internet connection for working from home, but what speed range should you be looking for? Let’s discuss further and see what the speed should be for your internet plan.
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Internet Speed to Work from Home
To determine and calculate the ideal speed you need to work from home, you will need to define what your job entails. Are you carrying out meetings, checking and sending emails, connecting to databases, etc.? Figuring out or writing down what your activities might be will help you to set an optimal speed for your internet. Something as simple as emailing might not require much data, however, if your work includes database handling and other heavy tasks, you will need much more data than with emailing only.
The Best Internet Speed for Emails
Emailing is possibly the simplest task, especially in terms of internet data consumption. You don’t need to have a very speedy internet connection to email your colleagues and your boss. Thus, when you fail to do so, or when your internet speed is not allowing you to, it makes sense your boss would be furious. The recommended internet speed for sending and receiving emails is 5 Mbps. This also applies to uploading or downloading any attachments and files with the email.
The Best Internet Speed for Video Calls And Meetings
Video calls and online conferences are an important part of company culture. Even if you are not working from home, there are still moments when you need to be part of some online conference or seminar. So, having a good internet speed and connection is crucial for this. The minimum speed required to make video calls is 1-3 Mbps. This speed is only recommended for a standard webcam. If you have a more upgraded webcam, you should go for a higher speed range.
The Best Internet Speed for Sharing Files
Working in a team or working together means there is bound to be an exchange of files and documents. These files could be light or even really heavy, so you should have the significant internet speed to keep up with them. Sending basic documents and files requires at least 1-3 Mbps, but if you’re looking at heavy files and graphics, you will need at least 5-10 Mbps internet speed.
So far, we have talked about exchanging files and more with another person or colleague, but what about if you want to access the company database and download or upload documents from there? Accessing the cloud can also take up a lot of data so a mere 5-10 Mbps won’t cut it. In that case, you will need at least a 50 Mbps internet speed to get going.
Possible Factors Affecting Your Internet Speed
Now that you have a little idea and a little insight about the tasks you might be performing and how much internet speed you need for that, it’s time to look into the factors affecting internet speed and see how you can make it better for yourself.
The Connection Type
The connection type for your internet is important in determining the reliability and general speed of the internet. While these factors depend on the service provider too, you can’t ignore that the connection type matters a lot. A few popular types of internet connections are Cable, DSL, Fiber, and Satellite. Cable and Fiber are the most popular and common types of internet connections and these are also preferred highly.
Why do you think they’re preferred over others? It’s because of the security, reliability, and speed factor. Between these two, Fiber ticks the boxes for all in terms of the best security, reliability, and speed. The cable connection falls at a close second for the same qualities. This is why people mostly choose fiber and if it is not available, they choose cable. The only problem with Fiber connection so far is that it can be expensive and it is not widely available due to the expensive infrastructure. Cable, on the other hand, is widely available and not so expensive.
The Number Of Users
Another factor that affects your internet speed is the number of users. If you are only considering your workload and not how many people are using the same connection as you, it is no surprise that you will be facing problems with your internet speed in no time. To avoid this problem, consider your workload and the number of people that live with you or at least ones that will use the same internet connection as you.
The User Activity
Additionally, just keeping the number of users in your mind is not enough, you will also need to keep the user activity in mind. What are the basic and regular activities that the users perform? Are there any users that like gaming and streaming or does everyone just enjoy some basic activities like surfing the net, social media browsing, etc.? Depending on their internet usage level and activities, you will need to have to make a selection of which internet speed range you should go for. This way you can avoid any inconveniences you might face with the internet speed.
As A Final Observation
Well, that brings us to the end of our article. We went over the basic and repetitive tasks you might have to perform on your job and how much the minimum internet speed should be for them. We have also gone through some factors affecting your internet speed, just so you get a heads up on what to avoid or look out for. If you keep these points in mind when deciding on a speed range, we are sure that you will find the right speed for yourself.
On top of that, you can always ask for help from the customer service agents at the store to guide you. If you are looking for a place to subscribe to an internet plan currently, try BuyTVInternetPhone. Not only do you have a variety of providers but you can also find plans according to your area by entering your ZIP code.
