Who really needs gig Internet?

I don't own a 4K TV so have no earthly need for a 1Gb connection. I think for many users 1Gb internet has become a fad, they believe they need it because of marketing when in reality 100Mb would meet their actual needs with ease.
 
Wondering why someone would need super high speeds when something like 100/200 Mbps would be acceptable?

Do you have it? How do you use it?
Why would someone need a Corvette? A Ferrari? A Lambo? A Lincoln? Etc.

Has nothing to do with need unless you’re a huge family and a lot of streaming devices.
 
Large, complex number crunching things shared amongst several users via encryption on top of VPN.
Saves starting a download and then going to the grocery store or taking a nap while something downloads.
 
Uploads speeds is what I'm after. I'm not sure why upload and downloads cannot be asymmetric on cable, apparently its only possible with fiber optic to you door, which is rare.
Um most cable is asymmetric. Fiber is usually symmetrical because of how fast and quick it goes.
 
I have 300meg Comcast.

Except my cablemodem is only 8 downstream channels so it maxes out at 275meg or so.

It's also a voice cablemodem so I have to see if Comcast will let me connect another cablemodem with more downstream channels to use for data and just keep the other one for voice.

275 megs is enough for what I do.
They make it incredibly easy, I just had to upgrade from my trusty old SB6141 modem to a SB8200. Plug it in, wait for it to boot, then go into the Xfinity app on your phone and select activate new equipment. You’ll need a modem that does both internet and voice though, something like the Arris T25.

As for the speed… had 100mbps and was content, then they gave us a free bump to 200. Then my contract expired and jacked the rate up and a new 1 year contract for 400mbps was only $5 more than I was paying for 200. Larger files and games download quicker, streaming start playing a hair faster but nothing earth shattering. I’d happily take 100mbps and no data cap for $40-$50/month if I could.
 
They make it incredibly easy, I just had to upgrade from my trusty old SB6141 modem to a SB8200. Plug it in, wait for it to boot, then go into the Xfinity app on your phone and select activate new equipment. You’ll need a modem that does both internet and voice though, something like the Arris T25.

Modems that do both internet and voice are pretty expensive.

I've heard that Comcast will allow you to use two cablemodems, one for voice and one for data. That, in fact, was my setup 5 years ago, before I moved. But I was renting a cablemodem back then.

I already have a 16 channel cablemodem, but it's not voice. If Comcast would let me use that one in addition to the voice modem I already have, that would be great.
 
We have 100/100mb fiber service from the local phone company. Although they offer multiple packages up to 1 gig their technician told me it was way overkill for what we do. Speed tests always come in at 150/150mb, and there is no data cap. We steam a lot, and I have a media server accessed remotely by family - no issues at all.
 
I pull 100-300 Mbps down off the T-Mobile cell tower and get 20-50 Mbps up with a ping of 50-55 and it's plenty. It's just the wife and I with YouTube TV, Prime Video, and a Plex server. It's nice to have the xtra bandwidth though if you ever need it but I wouldn't want to go paying a bunch extra for it.

Edit, and yeah, we use wifi where it makes sense. All of our 7 cameras are wired, but otherwise everything is wireless except the backhaul on the wifi. This new WiFi 6e mesh system loses very little speed as opposed to a wired connection.
 
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If you have Verizon FIOS, to get speeds above 100 Mbps, you must have a G1100 or G3100 router, AND have a ethernet cable to outside.

Coax is limited to a max of 100…

The old Actiontec MI424 versions cannot go above 100 Mbps…

The difference between the red band and silver band is the red band is gigabit speed, the silver is 100 Mbps connectors…

https://www.verizon.com/support/residential/internet/equipment/routers/actiontec-mi424wr
 
Modems that do both internet and voice are pretty expensive.

I've heard that Comcast will allow you to use two cablemodems, one for voice and one for data. That, in fact, was my setup 5 years ago, before I moved. But I was renting a cablemodem back then.

I already have a 16 channel cablemodem, but it's not voice. If Comcast would let me use that one in addition to the voice modem I already have, that would be great.
I was wrong about them pushing away from DOCSIS 3.0, you can still use them. If they won’t let you use 2 modems anymore Amazon has a Arris SBV2402 for $107 right now, they also have a “renewed” option for $65. Not saying that’s cheap, but it’s far better than some of the $200-$300 options I saw while looking.

Comcast also increased speeds across the nation, you should be at 400mbps now or in the very near future. The 300mbps tier got bumped to 400.
 
What we are really talking about is application performance. Great performance comes from low latency, low packet loss, and low jitter. I once had 1Gb/s Comcast for a few months when I got a deal. It's complete overkill for 99.9% of home users. Can you name me an application used at home that requires 1Gb/s sustained throughput? Downloading large files doesn't count, because the application doesn't care how quickly the file is downloaded. If you require a large file to download quickly, then go for the 1Gb /s, 2.5Gb/s, or even 5Gb/s speed.

Businesses require extremely high throughput, home users don't. I have customers at work that have 100Gb/s point to point Ethernet circuits and are going to upgrade to 400Gb/s, because their backups aren't happening quickly enough. Their backup window is only a couple hours overnight, hence the requirement for extremely high throughput. The cost for these blazing speeds? Each 100Gb/s point to point is about $10k/mo and a couple years ago were $25k/mo. We have customers with 100Gb/s internet connections, those run about $40k/mo.

I now have 300Mb/s down and 25Mb/s up. The insertion delay is the same with 1Gb/s vs. 300Mb/s, because the medium is the same (DOCSIS 3.1) and is negligible. We don't use a single application with > 5 Mb/s throughput (no 4K). We do use a lot of applications that are very sensitive to latency, loss, and jitter, such as VoIP and video conferencing, they all work just fine.
 
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If you require a large file to download quickly, then go for the 1Gb /s, 2.5Gb/s, or even 5Gb/s speed.
For a home user downloading files over the Internet, these kinds of speeds are not going to make any difference at all because the uploaders are limiting their upload speeds. I very rarely see download speeds over 20Mbps, and most of the time I see 10Mbps or less. Furthermore, most home networking equipment is limited to 1Gbps. We're now seeing the rollout of consumer hardware supporting Multi-Gig home networking, but, it is expensive, most consumer equipment is not equipped with it, and it is unnecessary unless you are using a Multi-Gig speed nas device and are able to use (and actually using) it's potential.
 
I have 1/2 gig AT&T fiber. The provided wi-fi box is 300 mbps max and is usually in the 180-200 range most of the time. The biggest difference I notice is on the scrollers at the bottom of the screen. Goes blurless almost instantly. Amazon movies go into the best res almost immediately. My $45 rate for this service is locked for life and no commitment contract. I have had it a year and by far the best internet I have had. Strong and reliable.
That is part of the reason I initially signed up got the 1G tier - to get the faster gateway. Then, when you downgrade you keep the same unit.

My only wifi6 device is my newest tablet and it' done speedtests at 600 Mbs to/from that gateway.
 
How many reasons do you want???

Right now I have at least 3 computers streaming...two of them are in active streaming video meetings, with one of them being my son streaming youtube
I have a minimum of 20 of my own devices connected at any time in my home (probably more, just off the top of my head)
I have three kids, two son in laws, and two grand children (only one old enough to stream) that will be on my connection for the next two weeks
I have YET to see an HD streaming movie that can rival a real HD disc played in my player
I doubt I will ever experience true 9.1 surround sound via streaming methods...the sound on a real disc BLOWS AWAY anything I can stream

I have 1 gig fiber...I never see 1 gig, and while what I get is decent, I experience band width issues almost daily.
 
Each 100Gb/s point to point is about $10k/mo and a couple years ago were $25k/mo. We have customers with 100Gb/s internet connections, those run about $40k/mo.
Those are amazing speeds, I presume this isn't your regular business class ISP service? This has to be some high end fiber optic service and I can't imagine the costs for the hardware!
 
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