What is mbps mean

It is the maximum speed at which you can download data from the internet onto to your computer or mobile device. Imagine you want to download a song from the internet. You visit a website, click a button and the song file begins to download on your computer. The speed at which the file will download will depend on your bandwidth. This bandwidth is measured in megabits per second Mbps. Generally speaking, the higher the Mbps of your internet service, the faster files will download from the internet.

A higher bandwidth will ensure that files download faster. The easiest way to understand bandwidth and Mbps is to think about water and a hose. Imagine you need to fill up a swimming pool with water.

A larger hose that puts out more water per minute will fill the pool much faster than a small hose, right? The same can be said of bandwidths. A greater bandwidth will enable data from the internet to download faster to your device. This means that websites will open faster, Netflix movies will stream better with no buffering , and your files will download faster.

Basically, a higher Mbps internet speed will give you a greater overall experience. By the way, bandwidth works with uploads as well. Even with a high-speed Internet connection, performance issues happen. Perhaps too many devices are accessing your network? Simply stated, if you need high-speed service for whatever reason, regularly use an Internet speed test. Maybe your ISP provides poor service? Perhaps you need to upgrade your service tier? Follow these steps to ensure you get the speed you need:.

If a device returned lower speed results, maybe it uses an older WiFi protocol? Also, if you use a dual-band router , the 5 GHz network boasts higher speeds than the 2.

If lower speeds are common, there may be an issue with your router, modem, or ISP. Give them a call for some extra troubleshooting. Perhaps a technician needs to make a visit?

When searching for the right ISP or testing your Internet speed, understanding the definition of Mbps becomes critical. Here are some key takeaways to remember:. Paul Williams brings a wide range of experiences to his writing. He worked extensively in technology, as a software engineer, technical writer, and now a technology writer.

Known as the leader of one of the top American Spacerock bands, his forward-looking music continues to be heard all over the world. You just discovered a few hundred dollars worth of in-app purchases from a popular Android mobile video game. Although smartphones have gotten more powerful over the past few years, battery life is one of the few areas where. Main Guides. Finally, you have to consider how many people are using your internet at the same time.

Personally, I am a frequent binge-watcher of online videos and enjoy gaming pretty frequently in my free time and I'm on the internet all day long for work and play.

I currently have an internet speed of Mbps and I'm very happy with it. Honestly, I could stand for it to be a lot slower and it would be perfectly fine for my needs. But how many Mbps for gaming would I need? I would say something like Mbps is ideal for an avid gamer or binge-watcher of movies that also has a family. If you're like Greg then this is a good speed for your situation, or you might want to jump up to Mbps if things are a little slow at that speed.

For simple, everyday use and only occasional gaming or video watching 25 Mbps is fine for a single user. If you are planning to stream games online then you will need to pay more attention to your upload speed than your download speed, but either way higher is better in every situation as long as you can afford it.

When you are trying to figure out how internet speed is measured, internet speed is kind of like filling a bucket. Your goal is to fill the bucket with water, so you use a hose. In this analogy, using the internet is filling the bucket, and megabits are the water. When you try to do something on the internet using your computer, like tell it to fill the bucket, your computer will send a ping out to a server somewhere and that server will return with lots of information, but what we care about is that it tells it how much data your computer needs to complete the task you asked it to do, how much water you need to fill the bucket.

Then your computer will request that amount of data, water, from your ISP and then you have to wait for your ISP to send all of that data to your computer and then for your computer to send it to the server, or wait for the water to travel down the hose. Of course, it also matters what browser you use as some are faster than others.

What data plans are available to you depend entirely upon where you live and what ISPs are available in your area. If you are shopping around for internet service, then you'll want to check out some reviews to find out what the best internet provider for you is. You might live in a big city and have fiber connections available, in which case you can get ridiculous speeds like 1, Mbps at higher costs.

If you live in the middle of a very rural area you might only have satellite available, and you might have to pay a premium to get something like 25 Mbps. Unfortunately, the only way to get around this is to move or wait for better infrastructure to be developed in your area.

Home Internet What is Mbps? One of - if not the - most common words tossed out is that third one: Mbps. In short, Mbps represents the speed an internet plan is offering. The higher the number, the higher the speed possible. But with that in mind, what is a good internet speed? Is 10Mbps fast? How about 50, or Mbps? What is fast internet considered to be? But first, to understand Mbps, you need to have a general idea of what bandwidth is.

Bandwidth , at a basic level, is the total download rate of your internet service - i. But upgrade to a firehose that can fill 1 gallon per second, and your 5-gallon bucket will be full in 5 seconds — 12x faster. But how much do you actually need? Now in most cases, the faster you internet speed i.

But how much is enough is just going to depend on your usage. As general, quick guidelines, you can check out this table.