You may have been offered 1Gb speed for internet at home Or perhaps you have seen it advertised and it seems like a good idea, because the faster the speed, the better the service. Speed and quality do not go hand in hand and we are going to explain what you have what to take into account before hiring a speed of 1 Gb at home.
If you have fiber at home and want to increase the speed of your service, you may be thinking of contracting 1 Gb, but is it necessary? There are a number of factors that you should take into account before hiring so much speed. because it will mean a higher spending on your internet bill, but, in addition, you may not get enough performance to this service and, therefore, you end up wasting your money.
What do you need?
Before making the move to a 1 GB connection, it is important understand your real needs. Do you really need to have this speed? Analyze, before doing so, what you use the Internet for in your day to day or what you are going to need to use it for.
If you use the internet to browse, check emails or occasionally watch some streaming movies, a slower connection may be enough and you will practically not notice anything if you have less contracted speed. 1 Gb connections are more suitable for those with more demanding bandwidth or data consumption needs, such as 4K video streamingonline video games or transmission of very large files.
actual performance
Another aspect to take into account is the actual performance of the service. The advertised internet speeds by companies, they are usually “until”, this means that, even if you have contracted 600 Mb, for example, you will not always receive that speed, but you will have a speed that is approximate to the speed you have contracted, yes, symmetrical. That is why it may be the case that, contracting 1 Gb, you are really getting 900 Mb.
In addition, you must bear in mind that the speeds contracted with the company are not the ones that you will have in all the devices. If you contract your operator with a certain speed, it is not what you will receive on your computer connected by WiFi at the end of the hall. What you have contracted and what your company promises you It will always be the speed that comes out of the router through the cable. But not via wireless and anywhere in the house. This will imply that what reaches other devices, such as the TV or the mobile or the tablet that you are going to use from bed, will be much less if you are connected by WiFi from a room that is far from the router.
compatible equipment
You should also look at your equipment. Why do you want to have contracted a 1 Gb rate if you have equipment that is not compatible with this speed? It is unnecessary and you will be spending money to not be able to enjoy its benefits. You should also know that even if your equipment is the newest on the market, it will not guarantee that it supports that speed.
First of all, you have to look at the computer network cards. In the case of the cable network card, it must be 1 Gb or 1000 Mb to support that speed. And in the case of the WiFi network card, you should make sure it has 5GHz band so you can have more than 100 Mb for WiFi. On the other hand, although it is not as important as the network card, You must have a good RAM that processes quickly and fluently the amount of information transmitted at such speed. It’s simple: the more RAM, the better.
Cost
1 Gb connections are usually more expensive than lower speed connections. Make sure you understand the total cost. That is, how much are you going to pay including the monthly rates, installation or any additional equipment that you want or need to buy to be able to enjoy this speed 100% and take advantage of it. Also, if you have a wired network at home, you should make sure that your network equipment such as switches or routers are compatible with this speed and if not, it will mean a additional cost to upgrade your home network at the new speed.
Availability in your area
You may want to have a speed of 1 Gb but this not only depends on you, it depends on what the operators offer in your area. Check if your service provider offers this speed at your location. Your current company may not offer that speed, but another company that installs in your area does. Could you consider the possibility of change company if you need more speed.
In urban areas it is more common for companies to offer speeds of 1 Gb, but in rural areas it can be more difficult reach these speeds, although currently, the expansion of networks and the competition between so many telecommunications companies, mean that high-speed fiber reaches further and more places.
Advantages and disadvantages, which contract?
Once you have decided if it is convenient for you to contract a 1 Gb speed at home, it is important to highlight the advantages that this type of connection can offer.
The most important thing is that you can download and upload very large files in a matter of seconds. Something very interesting when transmitting videos at high resolutions or working in the cloud with very large files. Also, with this speed, you can connect more devices simultaneously without the speed being affected. Something that worries a lot in homes with many users and devices.
On the other hand, not everything is good, one of the biggest drawbacks of contracting 1 Gb is that not all devices in the home are prepared for such speed, this may mean that you do not get all the performance you could. And, as we’ve already explained, in most cases you’re going to have to pay more for a faster rate that perhaps you will not use or that you are not going to take advantage of.
Should I hire him? Depends. As we have seen, it will depend on each situation and many other factors such as how we use it, where we live, what devices we have. Taking into account all these aspects we can make a decision.