Is my internet fast? According to devolo it depends on the upload speed!

When we refer to Internet connection speeds, we usually refer to a value, 50 or 100 Mbps for example. With a more rigorous critique, we see that all Internet access points have two speeds (download and upload), however one of the two is often neglected…

What are download and upload speeds?

Internet connection is not one-way. When we listen to music, play video games or simply search for something on the Internet, what happens is that online servers exchange data and information with the devices used. This data is either downloaded from the Internet and transferred to the various devices, or uploaded from the personal devices to the Internet:

– The speed download determines the speed at which, for example, images from a browser, YouTube videos and file downloads in general are downloaded.

– The speed upload it determines the speed at which, for example, photos are uploaded to Facebook or Instagram, family videos to WhatsApp groups or attachments to e-mails.

Now, both download and upload speeds are usually expressed in megabits per second or Mbps.

The upload speed is not always clear

An important observation is that the various Internet access contracts available on the market are not clear about download and upload speeds. For example, on a 50 Mbps DSL connection, it is very likely that this number only refers to the download speed. The upload speed will probably be around 10 Mbps (both are ideal theoretical values, which are however rarely achieved in practice).

As a rule of thumb for conventional DSL connections, we can say that the available upload data rate is usually half of the download data rate. . However, speed details vary by provider and contract and should be considered carefully, especially when you are in the process of purchasing a new Internet connection.

When slow upload speed becomes annoying

But why is there a difference between download and upload speeds? The reason is mainly historical. On the one hand, older data lines have limited capacity. On the other hand, download speed on home networks was much more important for many years. What happened mostly, was to consume and download data but rarely to produce and upload.

Today this situation is changing more and more and easily leads to moments of frustration. For example, while you are used to enjoying 4K movies without stuttering, but an extremely important upload from the home office to the company server “crawls” at a snail’s pace and then you feel that it will never happen. Or when a new video game has been downloaded from the digital store to the console or PC in record time, but during the next video call with the family, the quality of the HD web camera has disappeared, leaving only a mess of pixels.

For which applications is upload speed important?

There are various applications for which a high upload speed is recommended or necessary. Specific requirements also vary within these categories and depend on frequency of use. It makes a big difference if you want to post a YouTube video once a month or every other day.

Therefore, if you are looking for a new Internet connection, you should start by defining your requirements as precisely as possible so that you can calculate how much upload speed is required.

As a basic principle, however, we can identify a number of online applications that cannot provide a good user experience when used at very slow speeds:

– Video calls and video conferences: If you make phone calls regularly and for long periods of time and for you quality is important, then a sufficient upload bandwidth should be available.

– Data transfer: If large files have to be transferred frequently, a good upload speed is essential. It doesn’t matter if the data is uploaded to the cloud, to e-mail or to an FTP server.

– Social networks: Those who are particularly active on social networks and post mostly images or even high-resolution videos will also need good upload bandwidth. Of course this also applies in the case of sending photos or videos via private messages using services such as messenger.

– Gaming: Simply playing online games does not have the highest upload speed requirements, however, the ratings in this area are fluid. For example, if you want to frequently communicate with other gamers, post game recordings, or even live stream, the upload requirements increase exponentially.

Calculating internet speed

There are a number of tools available in the market for checking the speed of the Internet.

A recommended example of these tools is Speedtest.net from Ookla. This solution can be used to measure the speeds achieved for download and upload in practice. This way you can confirm whether the Internet access service provided is indeed in accordance with that of your contract. If it is not, you should contact your provider to find possible causes for the problem. However, to get the most meaningful measurements possible, there are a few tips to keep in mind:

– Take measurements at different times of the day.

– Perform the measurement using an Ethernet cable if possible.

– Turn off all internet connected devices that are not being used to take the measurement.

Improve your upload speed yourself

devolo experts offer the most extensive variety of solutions for creating a secure and high-performance home network.

For small apartments and to improve the WiFi performance on one floor, devolo has the devolo WiFi 6 Repeater 3000 and the devolo WiFi 6 Repeater 5400. These WiFi repeaters extend the range of the existing wireless network. With high transmission speeds, advanced mesh functionality and easy one-button setup, they make movie nights that much more enjoyable. For large apartments and houses and to improve the signal on several floors, the devolo Magic product range is highly recommended. This series includes adapters that work while plugged into home outlets, using existing electrical wiring to communicate with each other. The advantage of this Powerline solution is clear: walls and ceilings are no longer an obstacle because the network leverages the existing cabling, without additional costs of laying Ethernet cables.