We all want faster and faster broadband speeds but those rapid download don’t come cheap. The quicker things get the more you will pay and it seems many of us are signing up for impressive-sounding deals that far exceed the speeds we actually need. That’s the latest alert from the team at Go.Compare who say around 9.5 million households in the UK are forking out for broadband access that’s probably far too fast.
In fact, the comparison site reckons £53 million is spent on unused speeds each month – that’s a whopping £637 million a year. With Internet Service Providers (ISPs) offering tempting speed increases it can be easy to sign up in a bid to boost those Netflix movie binges or PS5 downloads.
However, depending on what you are actually doing online you could find that basic plans are perfectly adequate for your needs.
According to the findings, the majority of Brits pay for some of the fastest broadband speeds. Around a third (34%) have speeds of over 150 megabits per second (Mbps), but it’s estimated that just a fifth (21%) of internet users actually need broadband as fast as this.
As a quick guide, if you live on your own and simply send a few emails, watch the odd Netflix boxset in basic resolution and surf the web you should be fine with speeds of around 36Mbps.
Even a home with two people watching Netflix in 4K won’t suffer buffering if they have 72Mbps access.
The only reason to push things up a notch is if you have a home packed connected gadgets and family members who are constantly on the web and downloading huge files or watching content in 4K.
Think of your broadband a bit like a motorway, the more it’s used the slower it can get.
Speaking about the findings, Matt Sanders, broadband expert at Go.Compare, said: “Our latest research suggests that a large chunk of the country is spending more than it needs to on broadband, which is a real kick in the teeth when times are so tight.
“Everyone’s broadband needs are different, so it can be difficult to know what speeds you actually need. The key factors to keep in mind are the number of people in your household and what you tend to use your broadband for. Certain activities like online gaming and streaming 4K videos need faster speeds to run smoothly, and these speeds will be diluted if multiple devices are using the internet at once.
“So, if you live alone and only use the internet for general browsing like emails and shopping, you should be able to manage on relatively slow speeds. But, if your household is a family of four with multiple devices on the go, you might need to get faster speeds so that everyone can use the internet at once without being slowed down.”
If you’re unsure how fast your Wi-Fi is, run a speed test and then look at your usage. If you don’t need really fast speeds it’s worth speaking to your provider as dropping things down will save you money.
