Broadband connection speeds: user profiles - are you a match?

When the Internet first emerged, the buzz was all about e-mail replacing the letter. Nowadays Internet is used for much more than just e-mail; even reading the news online is a multimedia experience. To appreciate the full potential of the Net, there’s a need for speed. But how much speed do you need? Is there such a thing as too much? These user profiles will help you work out what type of user you are and what connection speed is suitable.

Do I need fast Internet?

There are two things to consider when deciding on the best Internet connection speed – budget and application. Of course, for someone who barely uses the connection, signing up for the fastest ADSL 2+ broadband on an 18-month contract may seem excessive. For others who regularly use the Net for downloading music, DVDs or uploading files to their own website, speed can be very important indeed.

For large packets of information, such as DVDs, which can be anywhere from two to five gigbytes, a fast connection is essential, as it still takes several hours to download the complete file. If you are a regular user of the Internet, a faster connection will allow you to browse more sites, as the load time for pages is less. Downloading attachments from emails is also much quicker.

User profiles: when speed counts

Consider the case study of Justine. Justine works from home as a graphic designer and writer. Regularly using the Internet to research information and access files kept on a server, Justine also needs the Internet to update her business website and websites of her clients. With Justine downloading and uploading large files many times a day, Internet connection speed is crucial to her business’ efficiency.

Mark, however, is a draftsman who also works from home. Although he has powerful computer equipment to run his drafting programs, he has a dial-up connection. Sending files to clients, each one often 15 to 30MB, slows down his operations considerably. He could improve his business efficiency is he connected to an ADSL 2+ connection, which would give him an upload rate of up to 24 megabytes (Mbps) – a huge improvement on dial-up’s 256Kbps. It would also free up his phone line.

Margaret is a post-graduate student living in North Queensland. Her remote location means the only real option she had for connecting to the Net was dial-up. This is not a problem for her. Aside from email and accessing online journals, Margaret’s work is in the field, so she does not use the Internet as often - or in the same way - as Mark or Justine. In addition, most files she downloads are PDFs, which are usually smaller in size than photos, movies, games or music, and are easily handled by dial-up speeds.