How to Choose the Right Internet Plan

Internet access has become necessary in today’s ever-connected world, whether for work, leisure, or home security. With multiple options to fulfill these needs at every turn, it can seem daunting to figure out which Internet plan is right for you. That’s why it’s important to understand what each plan offers and what plan best fits your unique situation.

Speed Needs

Internet plans come in all shapes and sizes, but they usually come down to one main factor: speed. How quickly you can stream, browse, work, or game online plays a big role in what plan will be the right fit for your home, and what your monthly cost will look like. That is why it helps to understand your speed needs before you choose a plan, so you can match performance with your home.

If you want a quick recommendation based on how you use the Internet, we offer a short Internet Speed Quiz on our website that helps point you in the right direction in just a few clicks. Try Our Speed Quiz. 

For a simple breakdown, there are only two essentials to know. Internet speed is measured in megabits per second, or Mbps. Download speed and bandwidth are the most common ways to understand how fast your connection will feel during everyday use.

So, what are your speed needs? You’ll have to answer two questions:

1. What are you using the Internet for?
2. How many people/devices will use the Internet in your home?

Less intensive activities, such as browsing social media, checking email, and watching shows in standard definition, do not require a lot of speed. However, even light users today often have multiple devices connected at once. While some households could function on lower speeds, we generally recommend starting at faster tiers for better consistency. For example, our 250 Mbps plan works well for smaller households with lighter to moderate use.

As usage increases, so should your speed. Video calls, streaming in HD or 4K, online gaming, and working from home all require stronger performance. If you share a home with several people who enjoy streaming, gaming, or working online at the same time, plans in the 450 to 650 Mbps range offer a much smoother experience with less buffering and slowdown.

Larger households, smart homes, and heavy streamers benefit most from our 850 Mbps and multi-gig plans. These higher speeds are ideal for multiple users, multiple devices, 4K streaming, gaming, video conferencing, and connected home technology, all running at once.

Keep in mind, Wi-Fi signals weaken over distance, and speeds may need to be higher if your connection has to travel through walls, floors, or larger spaces. This also assumes one device per person. With phones, tablets, TVs, gaming consoles, security systems, and smart home devices all competing for bandwidth, planning for higher speeds helps future-proof your home and prevents congestion.

How Many Devices Are in Your Home?

How quickly you want to access the Internet is important, but so is achieving those speeds on multiple devices. This is where bandwidth comes in. Bandwidth is a way to measure how many devices can receive high Internet speeds at any given moment.

As of 2022, the average home in the U.S. has a total of 22 connected devices! While you may fall outside of this average, it shows that more devices may be connected to your network than you think. The more devices vying for Internet access, the more congested your network will become.

With automatic updates to smartphones, large video-game downloads, and Ultra-HD streaming occurring simultaneously in your home, your speeds will get bogged down. That’s why it’s important to either limit the devices on your network - which you can easily do on the Westman Wi-Fi app - or to choose a plan that can keep up with your Internet needs. In a house full of heavy-Internet users, Fibre To The Home may be needed to achieve speeds of 500-1000 Mbps. 

A good practice would be to take inventory of the number of devices connected to your network and note how Internet-demanding they may be. That way, you better understand the type of plan you should be looking into. Remember, the more devices, the more speed will be required.

Conclusion

There is no single answer to your Internet plan search. Factors like speeds and costs will always make the decision difficult. However, with proper research into your Internet lifestyle, you can make the decision much easier. Just make sure you know what speeds you need for what you’ll be using the Internet for and understand how many devices will be using your network at any given time. 

Are you finding that your Internet plan doesn’t quite match the speeds you need? Don’t worry about it! Since WCG doesn’t require you to sign up for a contract, we can easily help upgrade your plan to ensure you get the desired speeds. Call our Customer Service at 204.717.2502 for more information.

Need help choosing the right plan? Contact us today to get started!