Internet providers love to sell the highest number on the page. Most households don't need it — but some genuinely do. Here's how to tell.
Streaming
HD streaming uses roughly 5 Mbps per stream; 4K closer to 25 Mbps. A household streaming on two devices at once in 4K needs roughly 50 Mbps just for that, before anything else.
Video calls and work-from-home
Each HD video call uses 1.5–3 Mbps each way. Two people on calls simultaneously, plus general browsing, comfortably fits in a 50–100 Mbps plan with headroom to spare.
Gaming
Gaming itself uses surprisingly little bandwidth — the priority is low latency, not raw speed. The bigger bandwidth draw is usually game downloads and updates, which benefit from a higher-speed plan even though gameplay itself doesn't need it.
A simple rule of thumb
Add up your simultaneous heavy uses (4K stream, video call, large download) and aim for roughly double that number to leave headroom — which is exactly why most households are comfortable on a 100–200 Mbps plan rather than the absolute top tier.
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