Yes, internet service providers (ISPs) make a very big deal about how awesome gigabit internet is.
Yes, having gigabit internet is pretty cool, especially if you waited ages to getfiberin your neighborhood.
If you listen to ISP marketing, they make it sound like gigabit speed is crucial to daily life.
Corbin Davenport / How-To Geek
They make it sound like without gigabit internet, you might as well be using dialup.
AT&T offers 5 Gbps connections in some markets, for example.
So why would they want you to pay $30 a month when you could be paying more?
But you will save $300 a year.
Need a little convincing?
How Much Bandwidth Do You Really Need?
But reliable doesn’t meanthe fastest internet speed available your area.
What makes us say that with such confidence?
The recommended minimum download speed for a 4K video stream is 15 Mbps.
General web browsing and streaming require even less, only adding about 2-3 Mbps.
On a gigabit connection, it would take around 14 minutes.
When Should You Actually Pay for Gigabit?
And if you dropped down to the 300 Mbps plan, you wouldn’t save $25 a month.
You’d save $9 a month (again, factoring in the cost of keeping HBO Max).
So forget throwing away $300-500 a year on upgraded broadband that you’re not even maxing out.
Spend that money once ona new Wi-Fi routerand enjoy a smoother experience on all your devices.
