# Going from 550 Mbps down to 50 Mbps…how bad will it really be? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 5, 2023, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-from-550-mbps-down-to-50-mbps-how-bad-will-it-really-be/977699 "2023-01-05T05:35:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MikeG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikeg/32/4329_2.png) [@MikeG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeG)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2023, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-from-550-mbps-down-to-50-mbps-how-bad-will-it-really-be/977699/1 "2023-01-05T05:35:45Z")
Just bought a new condo and the ATT cable, internet, and phone are included in the assessment. It’s 190 units in two buildings. They said high speed and frankly I didn’t question it. Till today when I started the activation process and found the only service they offer is 25mbps with an “upgrade” to 50! The rep even said “you’re doubling your speed!!” Uh no, I’m losing 90% of my download. Any of you have ATT 50 IBPP? How bad is it going to be? We download a lot of movies, I play online games. Best part is ATT has fiber service at 5 Gbps at the end of the next block but they haven’t been able to expand it in the last 4 years. Gotta look into how to organize and create some pressure. Any ideas would be most welcome. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2023, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-from-550-mbps-down-to-50-mbps-how-bad-will-it-really-be/977699/2 "2023-01-05T05:50:04Z")
[This calculator](https://www.omnicalculator.com/other/download-time) says a 6GB download will take 16 min. I have 25mbps and I have no problems watching Youtube or Amazon Prime. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2023, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-from-550-mbps-down-to-50-mbps-how-bad-will-it-really-be/977699/3 "2023-01-05T06:52:52Z")
I have \>600Mps at my modem, but WiFi bandwidth limitations even with Google Mesh and a small house mean that I get just under 100Mbps across the other side of my house in my lounge. So in practice you may not really be taking as much of a hit as you think, unless of course you were hardcore gaming close to your router. 50 Mbps is theoretically two streaming 4k movies. I don’t have any experience with gaming, but isn’t latency as critical as bandwidth? My concern would be whether they are really delivering the claimed bandwith consistently - say at 8pm under heavy usage throughout the complex. ---
**Author:** ![Bootb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19b73/32.png) [@Bootb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootb)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2023, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-from-550-mbps-down-to-50-mbps-how-bad-will-it-really-be/977699/4 "2023-01-06T03:52:34Z")
> [@MikeG](#): > > Just bought a new condo and the ATT cable, internet, and phone are included in the assessment. It’s 190 units in two buildings. They said high speed and frankly I didn’t question it. > > Till today when I started the activation process and found the only service they offer is 25mbps with an “upgrade” to 50! The rep even said “you’re doubling your speed!!” Uh no, I’m losing 90% of my download. That does meet the US government’s official definition of “high speed.” ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2023, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-from-550-mbps-down-to-50-mbps-how-bad-will-it-really-be/977699/5 "2023-01-06T12:18:59Z")
Some of these replies surprise me. I used to have about 40mbps and there was no way to watch any streaming such as netflix. I was (guess still am) one of the early adopters of Starlink. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2023, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-from-550-mbps-down-to-50-mbps-how-bad-will-it-really-be/977699/6 "2023-01-06T12:33:02Z")
During the pandemic we were able to downgrade our 150 mb/s to 25mb/s and suspended our bill. I didn’t notice any difference except when I had a download and had to wait longer. Streaming on 2 TV’s, school and work zoom streaming, and online gaming, which for us is minecraft, worked the same as before except on a rare few occasions particularly with my son’s school zoom though that may have been an ‘on their end’ issue, but I would not rule out the slower speed may have contributed. Really if they offered the 25 mb/s at a reduced rate I would take it as that’s all we seem to need. Yes we did check the speeds and they are pretty dead on delivering the speed they state. I do suspect that this race to the top, offering gigabite speed is really dimishing returns with 25 mb/s being a good starting point for decent service, at least for now. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2023, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-from-550-mbps-down-to-50-mbps-how-bad-will-it-really-be/977699/7 "2023-01-06T12:34:53Z")
> [@Bootb](#): > > That does meet the US government’s official definition of “high speed.” Unless they changed it, yes 25, or perhaps 20 is defined as high speed by Unc. Sam. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2023, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-from-550-mbps-down-to-50-mbps-how-bad-will-it-really-be/977699/8 "2023-01-06T15:26:49Z")
🤷‍♂️ Perhaps apples and oranges. The only thing I can get is satellite based. So latency sucked for working at home. Starlink fixed that. But its steaming that was such a problem with lower bandwidth over satellite. But may have been the previous provider. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2023, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-from-550-mbps-down-to-50-mbps-how-bad-will-it-really-be/977699/9 "2023-01-06T17:44:10Z")
I get 75 up/down from Fios (about 10 MB/s) and never had an issue streaming anything. I’ve simultaneously watched Netflix on the TV, a live football game on the PC, a YouTube video on my phone, while also downloading a game from Steam. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2023, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-from-550-mbps-down-to-50-mbps-how-bad-will-it-really-be/977699/10 "2023-01-06T17:49:03Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > I used to have about 40Mbps and there was no way to watch any streaming such as netflix. Did you monitor whether they were actually _delivering_ this consistently? Something doesn’t add up - streaming an HD movie takes only 5Mbps. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2023, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-from-550-mbps-down-to-50-mbps-how-bad-will-it-really-be/977699/11 "2023-01-06T18:38:49Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > Something doesn’t add up - streaming an HD movie takes only 5Mbps. Yeah, we only get about 8Mbps, and can watch movies without an issue. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2023, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-from-550-mbps-down-to-50-mbps-how-bad-will-it-really-be/977699/12 "2023-01-07T13:07:14Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > Did you monitor whether they were actually _delivering_ this consistently? Seemed consistent day to day. Perhaps it was because it was over satellite, but that doesn’t really make sense, latency should not mater for streaming. I donno. I do know that it barely worked once in a while. Ok, something weird is going on. I’m at my mom’s house in Denver (taking care of her estate). I recently upgraded to fiber here. It shows only 40 mbps. Watched Better Call Saul last night, no problem. I’m supposed to be getting half a gig. Shit, I get 200 mbps over Starlink at my house. I guess ignore my opinion/experience on this topic. ---
**Author:** ![dougrb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@dougrb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougrb)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2023, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-from-550-mbps-down-to-50-mbps-how-bad-will-it-really-be/977699/13 "2023-01-07T22:23:29Z")
What Riemann was asking is, Did you try something like? > **[Speedtest by Ookla - The Global Broadband Speed Test](https://www.speedtest.net/)** > > Use Speedtest on all your devices with our free desktop and mobile apps. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2023, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-from-550-mbps-down-to-50-mbps-how-bad-will-it-really-be/977699/14 "2023-01-07T22:47:38Z")
Or if you want to test Netflix specifically to see if your ISP is throttling them, this is a speed test from a Netflix server. I assume that they do something clever to prevent an ISP excluding this specific domain from any throttling. > **[Internet Speed Test](https://fast.com/)** > > How fast is your download speed? In seconds, FAST.com's simple Internet speed test will estimate your ISP speed. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2023, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-from-550-mbps-down-to-50-mbps-how-bad-will-it-really-be/977699/15 "2023-01-09T19:51:21Z")
Did the 550 megabit ever seem slow when downloading? You’re going down to 1/10 that download speed. HD streaming is about 5 megabit, ultra-HD is about 25 megabit. So if you have 2 UHD streams going at once you’re saturating your connection. Playing online games doesn’t require a lot of bandwidth and is mostly about ping time, you could be ok if 2 people aren’t streaming while you’re gaming. But you’re potentially going to be downloading and patching games at 1/10 the speed as before. I will say though a lot of servers probably aren’t serving you game downloads at 550 megabit. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2023, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-from-550-mbps-down-to-50-mbps-how-bad-will-it-really-be/977699/16 "2023-01-17T17:38:41Z")
I used to stream fine on 5mbps, this was for DVD quality streaming. The only real drawback is working since you have to go through a VPN, and you lose 80%+ of your internet speeds on a VPN. But even with that, 50Mbps should be sufficient. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2023, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-from-550-mbps-down-to-50-mbps-how-bad-will-it-really-be/977699/17 "2023-01-18T13:51:33Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > you lose 80%+ of your internet speeds on a VPN But I don’t think it’s likely a _multiple_ of your ISP bandwidth. It’s going to be more that there’s a bandwidth limit to a VPN that is not going to improve significantly with more ISP bandwidth. And if thats a concern, better not to use a free or ultra-cheap VPN service. I get 500 Mbps from my VPN provider, even through servers in Europe. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2023, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-from-550-mbps-down-to-50-mbps-how-bad-will-it-really-be/977699/18 "2023-01-18T13:58:34Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > The only real drawback is working since you have to go through a VPN, and you lose 80%+ of your internet speeds on a VPN. - I use Proton and it varies. Just now, I got 29(nominally 25, I’ve seen as high as 32) but at times it gets throttled down to 5-7. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2023, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-from-550-mbps-down-to-50-mbps-how-bad-will-it-really-be/977699/19 "2023-01-19T06:30:42Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > The only real drawback is working since you have to go through a VPN, and you lose 80%+ of your internet speeds on a VPN Depends on the VPN. My work used to use Cisco Anyconnect, and my VPN speed was about 1/3 of my ISP bandwidth. They switched to Global Protect, and now it’s like 90% of my ISP speed. I have 1gbps fiber and have measured 900mbps over VPN. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2023, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-from-550-mbps-down-to-50-mbps-how-bad-will-it-really-be/977699/20 "2023-01-19T08:11:44Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > …unless of course you were hardcore gaming close to your router. Surprisingly most online games take little bandwidth. Back in the day they ran over modems. The measure for online games is ping/latency. A lot of bandwidth will make game downloads go faster though. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-from-550-mbps-down-to-50-mbps-how-bad-will-it-really-be/977699.md?page=2)