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“So this plan is 10Mbps download and 1Mbps upload. What does it all mean?

How fast is my internet speed?

What do  download and upload speeds really mean?”

We constantly get these kinds of questions about download and upload speeds. We all love the web, but many of us don’t really understand how we’re able to watch our favorite videos, listen to music, or email. If you’re curious about how Internet speeds work, then this article is for you.

It’s like having a conversation

Think of an Internet connection like a conversation between two people. They also must be able to talk to each other without any kind of interference or distractions. Otherwise, pieces of the conversation may get lost.

• “Download” is the portion of your conversation where you are listening, taking in what I have to tell you.
• “Upload” is the portion of your conversation with me where you’re talking to me.

This is just like the relationship your computer has with the Internet. Whenever your computer listens, or receives something from the Internet, this is a download. When your computer speaks, or sends to the Internet, this is an upload.

If there’s an interruption from either side in the process, or if one side cannot hear the other side, the conversation will not work and the lost data will have to be resent.

This occurs on both the downloading and uploading portions of the conversation. This is a common frustration that we all have from time to time with the Internet and our favorite sites or content.

Fast doesn’t mean better, it means more

The higher the download and upload speeds are in your specific package, the more of a conversation you can have with the Internet, and the more conversations you can have at once.

A higher download speed means that you can “listen” or receive more data from the web. A higher upload speed means you can send more data to the web.

The typical user listens (downloads) more than they usually talk (upload) to the web. This is why Internet service provider plans at the residential or small business level have more download than upload speeds.

If you’re doing a lot with the Internet, like watching movies and sending files, then you’ll definitely enjoy a faster connection. If you get on the Internet every once in a while to check email (which is typically a very small amount of data sent and received), you probably don’t need as fast of a connection.

One of our goals at Stephouse Networks is to find an Internet connection that fits your needs. Get in touch with us and we can figure out what kind of plan fits you.

If you have any more questions about Internet speeds, you can leave them below in the comments!