Practical speed ranges
| Household | Practical starting point | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1–2 people, light use | 50–100 Mbps download | Check upload speed if doing calls or backups. |
| Busy home with streaming and calls | 150–500 Mbps download | Wi-Fi quality may matter as much as plan speed. |
| Large household, gaming, 4K, many devices | 500 Mbps to 1 Gbps+ | Look closely at upload, latency, and router capacity. |
Upload speed is often overlooked
Fibre-to-the-home upload speeds are often the same as or much closer to download speeds. Cable internet upload speeds are often much lower than download speeds. That difference matters for video calls, file uploads, backups, and remote work.
Speed is not the whole story
A stable moderate-speed plan can feel better than a faster plan with weak Wi-Fi, high latency, or poor equipment placement.