When choosing your next broadband package, speed is one of the most important things to consider. Many factors affect your internet speed, such as how many people are using the internet and where you live.

Many people don’t know what their current broadband speed is or aren’t sure of how many Mbps they need or what type of connection they can get when they compare broadband packages. It’s always good to understand how broadband works and how to check your broadband speed before you talk to your provider.

Upload speed vs download speed

Broadband speed is essentially how quickly you can upload or download data using your internet connection.

The average user spends more time downloading data, such as streaming music and videos than uploading data, such as when you’re uploading photos to Facebook or making Skype calls. For this reason, suppliers normally provide a faster download speed in comparison to the upload speed. And when providers talk about broadband speed, it’s usually the download speed that’s cited.

How is broadband speed measured?

Broadband speeds are usually measured in megabits per second (Mbps), although there are also kilobits per second (Kbps) and gigabits per second (Gbps).

1 Kbps: 1,000 bits per second

1 Mbps: 1,000,000 bits per second

1 Gbps: 1,000,000,000 bits per second

This means the higher the number of bits per second, the faster your broadband speed is. The maximum capacity for information to be sent or received is called bandwidth.

What is the average internet speed in the UK?

According to Ofcom’s latest report on internet speeds, the average UK home broadband speed in March 2021 was 79.1Mbps. This is mainly due to full-fibre broadband and ultrafast speeds being rolled out in some areas of the country – many people still can’t reach the average speed just yet.

Don’t worry if you can’t get the average speed. In general, a minimum download speed of 10Mbps is good enough for everyday activities, such as browsing the internet, e-mails and social media.

How fast is my internet?

If you look at your current agreement with your provider, it should state your quoted speed. This information should be available on your latest bill or by calling your provider. They should also be able to inform you if you have a guaranteed minimum broadband speed.

How do I test my internet speed?

You can use our free broadband speed test to check the average speed you’re getting from your provider.

It works by sending data to and from the main server and timing how quickly the data completes the round-trip, which is measured in milliseconds. The test is then run several times to establish a precise result.

It’s useful to regularly test the speed of your broadband so you can ensure you’re getting what you pay for. Luckily, it’s quick and easy to do with our broadband speed test – simply enter your postcode and email address to get the results sent to you.

What broadband speed do I need?

The broadband speed that best suits you depends on how you use the internet. You can generally sort internet usage into three categories:

• Light users: People who only use the internet for day-to-day tasks, such as online banking and emails
• Medium users: People who use the internet regularly for social media, surfing the internet and catching up on the latest episode of their favourite show
• Heavy users: People who use the internet for a significant amount of time, particularly for activities that use up a lot of bandwidth – for example, peer-to-peer file sharing, online gaming, or streaming videos and music

When choosing a broadband package, consider the individual usage requirements of everyone living in your household. You should also take into account the number of people using the connection, as well as what they’re using it for. All of these factors can affect the overall broadband speed.

Broadband speeds can also be generally sorted into three categories, although these aren’t strict definitions:

• Standard broadband – this uses ADSL technology to provide average download speeds of around 10-11Mbps
• Superfast broadband – this uses fibre-optic cables to deliver a broad range of speeds, covering anything from 30-300Mbps
• Ultrafast broadband – this generally means speeds of anything between 300-1000Mbps

As a minimum, we recommend a download speed of at least 10Mbps, which you can get with a standard broadband package. You’ll be able to carry out basic tasks, such as email, browsing the internet and online shopping.

However, if you have multiple people in your household using up your bandwidth, we recommend a download speed of at least between 30-60Mbps. You can achieve these superfast speeds with a fibre optic package.

And, if you work from home or enjoy streaming HD video or gaming – along with other members of your household – you could consider superfast or ultrafast speeds of anything between 60-1000Mbps.

Remember, while providers may advertise certain speeds, this isn’t necessarily what you’ll receive. These speeds are often only available to 50% of customers, meaning that you might end up with a slower connection.

What broadband speed can I get in my area?

The maximum broadband speed you can get depends on where you live.

In general, rural broadband speeds tend to be slower than urban broadband speeds. This is often due to a lack of infrastructure, or living a greater distance from the nearest telephone exchange or street cabinet.

So, if you live in the remote countryside, you’ll likely face a slower internet connection than those living in a town or city.

What difference is there between standard and fibre optic?

Standard broadband, also known as ADSL, uses pre-existing copper phone lines to send and receive information. Average speeds are usually around 10-11Mbps.

Fibre optic broadband uses much newer fibre optic cables, which transport data more efficiently as flashes of light. These flashes of light are then subsequently interpreted by the technology when it reaches their destination.

This results in a quicker and more reliable connection, with fibre optic broadband achieving speeds of 76Mbps and beyond.

Fibre optic vs standard broadband graph

Data collected by MoneySuperMarket, correct as of July 2019