In order to explain what a gigabit connection is, it’s important to understand how internet speed works and how it’s measured. While the phrase “fast internet” gets tossed around a lot, the reality of what that speed means, and who actually needs it, is a bit more nuanced.

So, let’s break it down.

What Is Internet Speed?

The internet is measured by how fast it is. No, the internet isn’t going anywhere physically, but data is, and speed refers to how quickly information can move across the web from one place to another.

Think of it like plumbing: your water pressure doesn’t move the faucet, but it affects how fast and how much water flows through it. Similarly, internet speed tells you how fast and how much data can travel to and from your device.

Download vs Upload Speed

Your internet speed is measured in two parts, your download speed and your upload speed. 

Your download speed is what most people use on a regular basis, and is what most people consider when referring to their internet speed as a whole. Your download speed determines (you guessed it) how fast you are able to download something off the internet. Now, you might be thinking “I don’t download things off the internet every day, so why is it called download speed?” On the contrary, you download tons of things every day just from browsing the internet, and using streaming services like Netflix or Disney+. Your download speed determines how fast articles appear when you browse the internet, or open your emails, or stream videos and shows, or play games, and more. 

Upload speed is the lesser-known cousin of download speed. Upload speed determines how fast you can send data out. Like when you upload a video to YouTube, post to social media, send an email with attachments, or hop on a video call.

And while most people don’t upload huge files every day, remote workers, live streamers, gamers, and people with security cameras or cloud backups certainly do. A slow upload speed can cause frozen Zoom calls, laggy gameplay, or a painful “buffering” bar on your uploads.

Understanding Bits, Bytes, and Speed Terminology

Now that you understand the different kind of speeds, it’s important to review how it’s measured.

Your data is measured in bits. A bit alone is not very much data. That’s why you’ll see that data is typically measured in higher units of measurement like a kilobit, megabit, and gigabit. A kilobit is 1000 bits, a megabit is 1000 kilobits (or 1,000,000 bits), and a gigabit is 1000 megabits (or 1,000,000,000 bits). For frame of reference, a one-page document containing a few words is at least a few kilobits. Even then, measuring something in kilobits is still rather small, so most industries measure data and internet speeds in megabits. 

To put it in perspective, when you see “Download speed of 35Mbps”, that means that your internet has the capacity to download 35 megabits in a second (or if whatever you’re downloading is 70 megabits, that’ll take you 2 seconds to download, and so forth). To determine the speed of your current internet service, you can type in any browser “Test internet upload and download speed”, and click on any link you trust. 

To clear up some other common confusion, the difference between a megabit (Mb) and a Megabyte (MB) boils down to the difference between a bit and a byte. A bit is the smallest amount of data something can be, while a byte is equal to the size of 8 bits. So, the difference between a megabit and a megabyte is going to be at the same ratio. A megabyte is equivalent to 8 megabits (8,000,000 bits or 1,000,000 bytes). 

How Much Speed Do You Actually Need?

Internet speed needs vary widely depending on what you’re doing and how many devices are connected in your home. 

Basic activities like web browsing and checking email only require around 1–5 Mbps, while HD streaming typically needs 5–10 Mbps. If you’re watching in 4K, plan on about 25 Mbps per stream. Video calls on platforms like Zoom or Teams generally use 3–6 Mbps, and online gaming can range anywhere from 10–50 Mbps depending on the game and platform. Each smart home device (whether it’s a thermostat, camera, or speaker) adds another 1–5 Mbps to the total load. Downloading large files or livestreaming in HD can push your needs up to 50 Mbps or more. 

If you’re working from home and multitasking, you’ll want 50–100 Mbps to stay productive without slowdowns. For a family of four with heavy users—streaming, gaming, video conferencing, and smart tech running simultaneously—a plan in the 200–500 Mbps range is often the sweet spot. In contrast, if you live alone, mostly browse the web, and occasionally stream Netflix in HD, a plan with 25 Mbps or less might be totally sufficient.

So… What is a Gigabit Connection?

A gigabit connection means your internet can theoretically download up to 1,000 megabits per second (1 Gbps).

It’s the Ferrari of internet speeds, incredibly fast, and probably more powerful than most people realistically need. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t useful in the right situations.

To put it in perspective, 1 Gbps is equal to 1,000 Mbps. That is about 125 megabytes per second. At that speed, you could download an entire HD movie in 7 seconds. At that speed, it would be like watching all of the Lord of the Rings Extended Cut Trilogy in just under 36 seconds. 

Another way to think about your internet speed would be like imagining a road. A 10 Mbps connection is a quiet neighborhood street. A 100 Mbps connection is a busy city road. A 1 Gbps connection? That’s a multi-lane freeway with zero traffic.

Who Actually Needs Gigabit Internet?

Having internet speeds at 1 Gbps is powerful. It can let you do a lot, and in a short amount of time. But now this begs the question, who actually needs gigabit internet? 

Content Creators

YouTubers, podcasters, streamers, photographers, and videographers deal with massive file sizes. Uploading 4K video to YouTube or backing up RAW photos to the cloud is a lot faster with gigabit speeds.

Families & Smart Homes

If you’ve got multiple kids gaming, a partner watching Netflix, someone on Zoom, smart speakers, Ring cameras, and maybe a robot vacuum, a gigabit connection ensures nobody experiences lag or buffering.

Businesses

Small offices, marketing agencies, media studios, or any business dealing with large files and lots of data will benefit from faster downloads, smoother collaboration, and fewer bottlenecks.

Professional Gamers

Downloading 100+ GB games, livestreaming, and avoiding lag in competitive play all get easier with more speed. Especially if multiple people in the household are using bandwidth at the same time.

Is Gigabit Internet Worth It?

That depends on your lifestyle. If you’re a casual user who checks email, watches Netflix, and scrolls social media, then probably not. However, if you’re someone who owns a business, prioritizes gaming, works with a lot of data, have lots of people on lots of devices, or simply can’t stand waiting around for things to load, then a gigabit connection may be right for you. 

Something to bear in mind, gigabit speeds can future proof your home or office. As tech evolves and we move toward 8K streaming, VR gaming, cloud hosting and more, having more speed now can save on the headache later. 

Curious whether gigabit is right for you? Let’s chat. Whether you’re upgrading your home office, supporting a growing household, or planning ahead for tomorrow’s tech, we’ll help you find the internet plan that fits. Navigate to our Contact page, and you can either call or submit a sales form. Our team would be more than happy to assist you.