Internet marketing is almost always about speed, convincing us that bigger pipes lead to a happier life. But do I need Gigabit speeds to my home? Let’s find out.
Life without broadband is a strange world. For the past few days I have been waiting for Internet to be installed in my new home and it is a more surreal time than I was expecting. I am not without connectivity of course, as my trusty smartphone remains my constant companion, but the phone is far more limiting than I was expecting.
As the Internet team begin the installation process now, I am looking around my home thinking of all the dumb devices that will soon spring into operation. My AC units will soon be internet controlled, I can install my web cams and doorbell. Heck, even my weigh scale will be connected, and let’s not forget those smart speakers that only connect via WiFi so I haven’t even been able to play music.
Sure, I admit it, I am clearly a nerd looking to connect everything sight for a more unified existence that is clearly a nice to have, rather than a must have. Of course, there’s “must have” mundane stuff too, such as the constant flow of work messages and emails, Teams chats… you get the idea. Those are possible through my smartphone, but I miss my big screens. Talking of which, streaming TV would be nice. The possibilities are almost endless, and I’ve always taken them for granted since I had broadband in my previous house.
But let’s talk about the broadband part of this. How “broad” does it have to be? In a world of gigabit pipes to many American homes, I’m making a somewhat unusual step: I am choosing the slowest fiber solution there is at just 50 Mbps download and 10 Mbps upload. Part of the reason is I am cheap (well, until I see the next connected gizmo that I must have for my house) and the 50 Mbps solution is significantly less per month. But it is also because I’m not convinced that I need more speed than that. 4K TV streams at 25 Mbps while the minimum spec for a Teams video call is just 1.5 Mbps.
Besides, as my colleague pointed out to me, 50 Mbps used to be considered “fast”. And it still is for a significant number of US households. According to our latest Broadband America report,19% of US connected homes get speeds of less than 25 Mbps; 29% are sub-50 Mbps. And that is not including homes that do not have fixed Internet. When you consider all US homes, only 65% get broadband speed of 25 Mbps or above.
Of course, for many of those households, the “choice” of sub-broadband speed is hardly a choice at all. Rather, it is the only option available (such as line-of-sight solutions). That is likely to change as the carriers push Fixed Wireless Access into more markets; a solution that offers broadband (100 Mbps) for less than I am paying for my 50, and with a far quicker installation.
I do have the option to upgrade if I find my speed is not enough and, perhaps, I will be adding a caveat emptor to this blog in a few days’ time, confessing that I’ve had to spend more to get more. But I don’t think I will. Some houses may need more speed than I’m planning, but even with my inner nerd going wild on home automation widgets and devices (I even have a connected weather station for wind tracking) I don’t expect to hit an issue.
Let’s find out. The fiber installation is pretty much wrapped up, so it’s time for me to start connecting devices and persuading them to all chat to each other to give me a harmonious connected home. But first, I’ll be connecting my smart speaker. It’s time to blast some Gorillaz while I sort out everything else.
Postscript.
There’s the promise of “speed” and then the reality of what you get. In these early days since my Internet has been installed, I got sub-10 Mbps download speed on a good day (and sometimes as low as 4 Mbps). 10 Mbps meant I could still stream Netflix and the F1 race this past weekend (albeit on an iPad rather than a large 4K TV)… at 4 Mbps, not so much.
The issue is the poor-quality router provided by my service provider, as they readily admitted when I called them. An updated WiFi router is called for, or snaking Ethernet cables through the house, which gives me 40 Mbps. Fun times in the “broadband” world… but with a newer WiFi router I will be more than content with my 50 (well, let’s be reasonable and call it 30) Mbps.