What Speed is Right for Me?

As you look at the options available from Noize Communications or other services there are many choices and variations in price points. In this short article we hope to be able to help you make an informed decision on what service is best for you, your family, or your business. There are two good analogies to use when thinking about internet speed and bandwidth. The first of these is how much data will you use over a certain time period. The second is how fast do you need the data to flow between your computer and the internet.

First let’s address the amount of data you use over a certain period of time. One of the best features of Noize Communications internet service is the unlimited data use. That means we will not limit the amount of data you can pull in a day, a week, or during the month. Other services such as satellite, cellular, and even now many DSL and cable companies are limiting the amount of data you can use in a 24 hour period or during a month. As we said, our service is unlimited data use.

The second consideration is the speed of data transferred from the our internet source to your home. Our service is designed for rural customers who have been unable to obtain quality high speed internet service. One of the things most people notice is our low latency. Latency is the amount of time it takes for a packet of data to make the round trip from your computer to the server and back. This is measured in milliseconds, or 1/1000 of a second. In most cases Noize Communications users will see less that 25 milliseconds. For persons who have used satellite internet have noticed what feels like a slow connection because the latency can be often around 500 milliseconds. This is only one factor when discussing the speed, the second is the bandwidth.

Bandwidth is best described as the pipe between the internet and your home or business. The best analogy is a water pipe, the smaller the pipe the less amount of water which flows through. This is the same with data, which is measured in megabits per second. The larger the pipe the more megabits per second that can flow through to your computer.

This leaves you with the question on how much bandwidth do you need. Honestly this comes down to what you desire and the amount of time you are willing to wait for data. For most web sites our basic package is just fine, but where you really start to notice the difference is when you are waiting to download files such as pictures, music, videos, gaming, or software. The other consideration is how many people or devices will be using the internet at the same time, downloading or uploading data. Consider the number of devices today which utilize the internet; desktops/laptop computers, Ipad, Smart Phones, Ipods, tablets, TVs, game consoles, and so many others. The final consideration is for those who work from home. Consider the applications you may be working with, do you connect to the office via a VPN? Consider the data being transferred, are there images, large files, or even voice files.

There are many things to consider, please feel free to talk with us to help you determine what is best for you. We will not over sell you a service you do not need. Because there is no long term contract you may switch plans as you need so if you need to increase or decrease it can be done with a phone call.