I’m looking at getting new internet at the house, and they’ve got their different packages (500mbps, 350mbps, 1gbps). I defaulted to “oh, I’ll get the 500mbps, that’s about what I’ve got with the other people”, but then wondered what I’m actually getting from anything that is sending data to me.
I know that this is about speed, not quantity, and so not looking for “I downloaded 800 gigs of linux ISOs last month”, but rather thinking “Youtube probably isn’t going to upload 200mbps to me.” But maybe something like Steam does when I’m downloading a game?
If I only ever have my actual real-world downloads surpass 350mbps a few times a month, then maybe I save myself $10/month and get that instead of 500mbps.
I have a TP-link router with their (updated) firmware/software, not one of those home-built routers with OpenWRT or something like that, so that will probably limit me since I want to know for the whole system, not an individual device and so the router itself is probably what needs to be measured…
Start with the cheapest plan.
If you ever find yourself wishing steam installed a game faster, then upgrade to the next best one. See if that feels like enough.
I pay a bit more for 600mbps, but that’s because I have a home server which runs services for friends and family. It might be streaming media, be syncing nextcloud data, and uploading a snapshot to off-site backup, all at the same time, and it needs to do that without hiccups for anyone accessing it. Even then it’s more than strictly necessary. 350mbps would be VERY fast, and enough.
Along with that comes the ability to install small games basically instantly on my gaming desktop, and big ones in the time it takes me to grab a snack, but even the cheapest speed available would otherwise be more than enough for single-person use.
My siblings and mother live on 10mbps home wifi, and they never even complain.