Compare Internet Speeds with CenturyLink

What Is a Good Internet Speed

Remember when getting online meant getting off the phone? Back then, a “good” internet speed meant a less-than-lightning-fast 56 Kbps, or kilobits per second, if you were lucky. Most households could only access between 40 and 50 Kbps until broadband internet changed the game by introducing speeds up to 1.5 Mbps, or megabits per second, the equivalent of 1500 Kbps.

In the intervening decades, our expectations for what constitutes a “good” internet speed have changed. Most households can access the basic speed necessary to stream movies (5 Mbps), but in some neighborhoods, accessible speeds can climb to 100 Mbps or even up to 940 Mbps in areas with fiber-optic internet.

A higher speed is objectively a better speed, but what counts as a good internet speed for you? The answer is a little more subjective and depends on both your household size and what you do on the internet.

Live on your own? Anything from 10 Mbps on up will do, though 20 Mbps or more will give you the bandwidth to game, stream, and run several devices (like your phone, your smart TV, and your laptop) at the same time. Member of a large, device-heavy household? The more devices and users, the more bandwidth you need, so choose a speed plan up to 40 Mbps or 100 Mbps to accommodate everyone. And if you spend hours a day or week playing online multiplayer games or engaging in other high-bandwidth activities, you’ll want 100 Mbps or even up to 940 Mbps (if it’s available in your area) to keep latency low and rankings high.

A megabit is 1,000 times faster than a kilobit, and a gigabit is 1,000 times faster than a megabit, but what does that mean for real-time internet speed? Typically, the higher your bandwidth, the faster you can download content; with up to 940 Mbps, you can download a 2-hour HD movie in just 18 seconds. On average, the same activity would take 13 minutes at 20 Mbps, 3 minutes at 80 Mbps, and 2.6 minutes at 100 Mbps. (In case you’re wondering, a 2-hour HD film has an average file size between 2 and 5 GB, or gigabytes, which measure file size and storage space, unlike a gigabit, which measures speed.)

Upload Speeds vs. Download Speeds

Upload Speeds

Your upload speed determines how quickly data travels from your devices at home to another space on the web. The faster the upload speed, the faster you can send an email, post to Instagram, or update a blog. Most of these activities take very little bandwidth.

Download Speeds

Your download speed determines how quickly your web-enabled devices can download a web page, video, song, or application. Since downloading content to stream requires more bandwidth than uploading a photo, internet speed plans typically include faster download speeds than upload speeds.

Factors that Affect Internet Speed

Match Your Needs to CenturyLink Speed Plans

CenturyLink offers multiple speed tier plans including: All speeds up to 100 Mbps and Fiber Gigabit (listed speeds may not be available in your area.) Speeds up to 20 Mbps are perfect for those with one or two devices and basic internet needs, including general browsing and streaming. Speeds up to 100 Mbps are just right for those with larger households, multiple users and devices, and frequent HD streaming needs. And if you want near-instantaneous downloads and next-to-no lag, Fiber Gigabit will take your internet experience to the next level.

Maximum download/upload speed of up to 940 Mbps via a wired connection.

Not sure why you need more than the minimum speeds listed above? The minimum speed isn’t the same as the best speed. While 1 Mbps is enough for basic emailing, browsing, and social media, downloading a web page at that speed will take several seconds. For faster connections you can share with several household members, start with up to 10 Mbps and complete simple tasks without frustration.