The race to deliver ever-increasing speeds on the Internet seems like a never-ending spectacle.
Promises of 1 Gbps and above are beginning to be common currency among service providers.
However, in the midst of this escalation of figures, a crucial question arises: do we really need that much?
Bandwidth and its myths
By: Gabriel E. Levy B.
Bandwidth is one of those terms that, despite its ubiquity in the digital age, is surrounded by myths and misunderstandings.
Far from being a car race where data races at full speed, bandwidth more closely resembles a road’s ability to carry vehicles, or in this case, data.
It is a measure of quantity rather than speed, reflecting how much information can flow through a connection in a given period.
While speed, understood as the volume of data that travels in a second, plays an important role, the key to performance lies in something much more subtle: not all data needs to move at the same time.
More than a data marathon, bandwidth is a synchronized dance where every bit finds its place and moment, ensuring that transmissions flow smoothly.
This redefines the narrative: it’s not about how fast the network can run, but how it organizes the endless parade of information that crosses our connections.
The career that everyone talks about but few understand
A decade ago, talking about high-speed internet implied 10 Mbps connections, a standard that allowed basic tasks such as browsing, sending emails, watching low-resolution videos and streaming music with relative ease.
This figure, considered advanced at the time, was enough to cover the digital needs of most households. However, the emergence and massification of streaming platforms such as Netflix, YouTube and Disney+ transformed bandwidth consumption patterns.
According to a report by Sandvine, in 2022 these platforms accounted for more than 60% of global residential bandwidth usage, a figure that illustrates the dominance of these applications over the network.
Netflix, for example, requires 3 Mbps to stream content in standard quality, 5 Mbps for HD, and at least 25 Mbps for 4K. YouTube, on the other hand, consumes between 3 and 15 Mbps depending on video quality, while Disney+ is at similar figures.
These platforms do not operate alone; services such as Zoom, which became hugely popular during the COVID-19 pandemic, demand between 1.5 Mbps and 3 Mbps per user to ensure a smooth experience, while online video games demand minimum speeds of 3 Mbps per console or device.
If you combine these activities within the same household, the result is a much higher bandwidth load than imagined just ten years ago.
As these platforms dominate the network, connected devices in the home are also increasing their prominence.
From security cameras to smart thermostats, each of them contributes to your overall data consumption. According to a report by Ericsson, by 2025, an average household will have at least 50 connected devices, including smartphones, tablets, TVs, smart speakers and appliances such as refrigerators and washing machines.
An advanced home, with complete integration of home automation systems, can have more than 100 devices working simultaneously, each demanding between 1 and 5 Mbps on average.
This technological evolution not only increased the volume of data needed, but also changed the expectations of consumers, who are now looking for fast, stable connections capable of supporting multiple simultaneous activities.
Between the voracity of Netflix, YouTube, Disney+ and other services, and the growing connectivity of smart home devices, the bandwidth required in an average home today could be far from the figures advertised by providers.
What is enough? Breaking down actual consumption
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) often promote plans that offer speeds that appear to far exceed the actual needs of average users.
For example, connections of 500 Mbps or even 1 Gbps are common in the market, but many families do not manage to use even a fraction of that capacity.
According to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), 25 Mbps is technically enough to meet the demands of most households.
This figure is based on common activities such as browsing the internet, streaming HD content, and making basic video calls.
However, this standard seems to have lagged behind current digital consumption trends.
Netflix, for example, states in its guides that for an optimal streaming experience in Ultra HD or 4K quality, at least 25 Mbps per device is required.
YouTube and Disney+ have similar requirements, with a range of between 15 and 25 Mbps for high-quality content. Add in an online gaming session, such as Fortnite or Call of Duty, which can consume between 10 and 25 Mbps depending on the platform, and the landscape changes dramatically.
Now imagine a family of four: two watching series in 4K, one playing online and one participating in a video call on Zoom that requires between 3 and 6 Mbps. Total usage can easily exceed 70 Mbps simultaneously, knocking FCC standards out of the game.
The key to determining the right speed is to understand the usage profile of each home.
In homes where 4K broadcasts, video calls on platforms such as Teams or Google Meet and multiplayer video games predominate, demand can rise between 100 and 300 Mbps, especially if users tend to carry out these activities simultaneously.
On the other hand, in smaller homes or those with less technology-intensive uses, 50 Mbps is usually enough to cover needs such as web browsing, HD streaming, and occasional use of video call services.
To add more precision to the calculation, it is important to also consider the additional load of connected devices.
According to a Cisco report, the average number of connected devices per household reached 9.1 in 2023 and could reach 14.6 by 2025. Each device, whether it’s a smartphone, TV, or smart speaker, adds between 1 and 5 Mbps of passive consumption in syncing tasks and automatic updates.
So even a small home might need more speed than the minimum standards suggest if you’re aiming for a smooth, seamless experience.
The Gigabit and CDN Paradox
ISPs highlight the promise of “Gigabit” speeds as a competitive advantage, but the reality is that most households rarely take advantage of this potential to its fullest.
In fact, a significant portion of the data traffic that flows through domestic connections never travels long international distances.
This is where Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) play a critical role in the modern Internet architecture. These networks, made up of servers strategically distributed in different regions, are designed to bring content closer to end users, minimizing latency and drastically reducing international traffic.
According to a study by Akamai, a leader in CDN solutions, up to 90% of the streaming and multimedia content consumed by users comes from local CDN servers, not from the platforms’ central servers.
For example, when someone plays a series on Netflix, instead of downloading it from the headquarters in the United States, they do so from a server located in their region or even in their city.
Not only does this model ensure a faster and more stable user experience, but it also significantly decreases the load on international links, which account for just 10% of the total traffic on a typical residential network.
The optimization provided by CDNs has a direct impact on households’ actual speed needs. In many cases, the international bandwidth required by a user is less than 5 Mbps, even during 4K content streaming, as data is primarily moved within the local infrastructure.
Services like Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, and Disney+ benefit greatly from this setup, with local delivery rates exceeding 95% of their global traffic.
However, while CDNs optimize traffic and improve efficiency, they do not eliminate the need for a robust home network.
A low-quality router, with limited capabilities to handle multiple devices simultaneously or to prioritize different types of traffic, can become a critical bottleneck.
In addition, poor configurations, such as incorrect router locations or interference, can throttle network performance, regardless of the contracted speed or the proximity of the CDN servers. So while CDNs reduce reliance on breakout speeds, the quality of home infrastructure is still essential to ensure a smooth experience in a connected home.
Specific cases: when more is not always better
A hypothetical household of four in Miami hires a 1 Gbps plan, relying on promises of extreme speed and believing it will comfortably cover their multiple digital needs.
Equipped with two 4K TVs, several smartphones, tablets, and smart devices such as security cameras and speakers, the home seems to be the perfect setting to justify this investment.
However, even at times of peak usage, such as when simultaneously streaming two movies in 4K, making video calls, and someone playing online games, total consumption never exceeds 300 Mbps. This case underscores that the contracted 1 Gbps potential is largely underutilized.
Another hypothetical case, also based on typical consumption patterns, is that of a couple in a rural area of Mexico who has a 50 Mbps plan.
Although this speed should be enough for their daily activity, they face frequent interruptions in their video calls and online games.
In this case, the problem is not the contracted speed, but the instability of the connection, attributed to an unreliable network infrastructure or high latency due to the distance from local servers.
In Bogota, an average family decided to sign up for a 500 Mbps plan after integrating an advanced home automation system with 30 connected devices, including thermostats, surveillance cameras, smart lights, and remote-controlled appliances.
Although the contracted speed seemed adequate, they began to experience performance issues when multiple devices were trying to operate simultaneously.
After investigating, they discovered that the real bottleneck was not in the bandwidth, but in their router, which did not have the technical capacity to manage multiple connections at once. This router, designed to handle between 10 and 15 devices, proved to be insufficient in the face of higher loads, causing disconnections and slowness.
A final hypothetical example is in Santiago, Chile, where an average family contracted a 1 Gbps plan and connected more than 40 smart devices in their home.
Although the contracted speed was much higher than necessary, they faced difficulties when their devices tried to sync or update automatically.
These problems were not caused by a lack of bandwidth, but by the saturation of the home network, the product of a router that could not handle the concurrency of so many simultaneous connections.
According to a Cisco report, homes with more than 25 connected devices need high-performance routers that incorporate technologies such as MU-MIMO, capable of handling multiple data streams without interruptions.
In all these hypothetical cases, no household needed more than 300 Mbps to meet their real demands, highlighting that the contracted speed is often well above what is required.
These examples reinforce the importance of prioritizing home network quality and connection stability over contracting excessively high speeds, which are rarely fully exploited.
In conclusion, the amount of internet speed a household actually needs depends more on usage than advertising numbers. For most households, 100 to 300 Mbps is sufficient, as long as you have adequate equipment and a stable connection.
Although ISPs continue to push speed limits, the real challenge for users is balancing their needs with an efficient home infrastructure. In the end, more speed doesn’t always translate into a better experience.
-References and sources:
- Akamai Technologies. (2022). State of the Internet Report. https://www.akamai.com
- Cisco Systems. (2023). Annual Internet Report (2018–2023). https://www.cisco.com
- (2022). Mobility Report June 2022. https://www.ericsson.com
- Federal Communications Commission. (2022). Broadband Speed Guide. https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/broadband-speed-guide
- (n.d.). Internet Connection Speed Recommendations. https://help.netflix.com/en/node/306
- (2022). Global Internet Phenomena Report. https://www.sandvine.com
Zoom Video Communications. (n.d.). System Requirements for Zoom. https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362023-System-requirements-for-Windows-macOS-and-Linux
