Netizens often ask what speed of the Internet channel is considered normal, what it depends on, and how to increase it. There is no single answer to these questions. Normal, or optimal data transfer rate is a relative concept.

Let's see why.

What is speed measured in

Bandwidth, or Internet channel speed, is an indicator of the amount of data that has been received or transmitted to the network per unit of time.
The amount of information transmitted over the network is measured in kilobits or megabits per second.

Abbreviations allowed:

• 1 kilobit/second - Kbps or Kbps
• 1 megabits/second - Mbps or Mbps

Important! If the baud rate is to be specified in bits, then the data size is in bytes (kilobytes, megabytes, and gigabytes).
For example, an HD video file weighs from 700 MB to 1.4 GB, in Full HD format - from 4 to 14 GB.

On a note!
1 byte = 8 bits.
1 megabyte = 8 megabits
1 megabyte/second = 8 megabit/second

Reasons for low internet speed

The explanations for why a movie takes a long time to load or a game “lags” are different.

• Internet service provider.
  The tariff plan indicates the conditions that in real life may differ.
• The number of users of the communication channel.
  As the audience grows, the load on the channel increases.
• Equipment.
  A low-quality router is able to "eat" part of the traffic.
• Loaded with unnecessary "junk" programs.
• Virus infection.
• Your device settings.
• Programs running in the background. These include antiviruses and extensions that block ads.

Table: what this or that Internet speed is suitable for

Additional “aggravating” circumstances may affect the throughput of the channel. For example:

1. The problem is not on your side - the server of the site from which you download or watch the series is overloaded. At the time of peak load, it will not be able to transfer data faster, even if your data plan allows you to receive it at a higher speed.
2. The home channel is occupied by several users.
   If at the same time someone from the home is “cutting” into an online multiplayer game, another has just received a video call, and you are trying to download a series, then everyone will feel the deterioration in the quality of data transfer.

How to measure internet speed

There are different ways to measure the real speed of the Internet on a computer.
1. Take measurements using the Speedtest.net program.
Click on the "BEGIN TEST" or "Start" button and the program will present the results in the form of a graph.

Speedtest measures 3 indicators:

• Ping - means the time that the signal passes from your server to someone else's and back. The smaller it is, the better the quality of the Internet connection. It is generally accepted that ping should not exceed 100 ms (milliseconds).
  The gaming audience is sensitive to this indicator. The less ping, the less pause in the game.
• Download speed (incoming) is the most important parameter for the user and the base one for the provider. It is for this indicator that the provider forms tariff plans. The higher it is, the more expensive the package of services.

• Upload speed (outgoing) - this indicator is of less interest to the user - it has little effect on the download process. Outgoing bandwidth is always lower than incoming, which looks logical.

2. To see the picture in dynamics - during the day, week, month - use the DU Meter utility. This is a professional tool, it is used in website performance testing. After the trial period expires, the service becomes paid. Download DU Meter: du-meter.en.com

Important! High-speed Internet does not always mean / guarantee a high-quality and stable connection.
An average throughput of 256 Kbps, but with good ping, is more comfortable than 100 Mbps, but with pings of half a second.

What speed do you need

Not all users know that they themselves are able to influence the increase in the speed of home Internet. If after monitoring it is not up to good, try a few steps:

• Clean your computer of unnecessary bandwidth-hungry programs.
• Set a password for wi-fi without fail so that "uninvited guests" cannot connect to you.
• Unload your device as much as possible - turn off all currently unused applications, close unnecessary tabs, exit messengers.
• Increase the port bandwidth on your device, which is 9600 bps by default.

Step-by-step instructions for users of devices on Windows OS.