Internet Service Provider | Understanding Upload and Download Speeds
Internet Service Provider | Perhaps you’ve heard a friend or colleague saying “my computer at home gets 22 down and 9 up.” What does that mean? It’s simple. They’re talking about upload and download speeds. Maybe an international colleague of yours laments their slow internet due to their country being behind the times. This, too, is referring to upload and download speeds.
What is the difference between upload and download? Why do we need both? Which one serves what purpose? Thanks to the globalized world of today thanks to the world wide web, understanding these terms as well as the role your internet service provider plays in impacting speeds can benefit you greatly.
The Difference Between Upload and Download Speeds
The key difference between upload and download speeds has to do with the relationship with your computer and the internet.
Download speeds determine how quickly your computer can receive information from the internet. Upload speeds, on the other hand, determine how quickly the internet receives information from your computer.
Your internet service provider, as a default, sets the upload speed to be lower than the download speed because, as a general rule, we as consumers and businesspeople prioritize the downloading of information (like movies, songs and documents) over uploading (such as on YouTube). If you take a look at SpeedTest’s 2019 statistics, the average U.S. download speed was 33.9 Mbps (or megabytes per second), and average upload speeds were 9.8 Mbps for Q1-Q2 2019.
Megabytes Per Second and Your Internet Service Provider
As for the unit of measurement, Mbps, this tells you how much data your internet connection can transfer per second. Interestingly, a byte is the smallest measured amount of data transference and is roughly equal to how many bits it took for original computers to encode one character of text, like an “A” or a “b.” Simply put, megabytes per second measures the rate at which your internet service provider sends data from the internet to your home or workplace.
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