Internet Speed Calculator & UK Broadband Guide
Calculate download times, understand what Mbps means, and find out if your broadband speed is good enough for 4K streaming, gaming and working from home. Based on Ofcom 2024 UK data.
Download Time Calculator
Internet Speed Terminology Explained
Internet speeds come wrapped in jargon that most ISPs don't bother to explain. Here is a plain-English breakdown of every term you will encounter when comparing broadband packages or checking your connection.
Mbps Meaning: Megabits per Second
Mbps stands for Megabits per second. This is the standard unit ISPs use to advertise and measure internet speeds. When BT says you'll get "74 Mbps average", they mean 74 million bits of data per second can travel across your connection.
Here is the crucial distinction that trips up most people:
to convert
Key Broadband Terms at a Glance
Download Speed
How fast data travels to your device from the internet. This is what ISPs headline. It governs streaming, browsing and downloading files. Most home broadband is asymmetric — download is much faster than upload.
Upload Speed
How fast data travels from your device to the internet. Upload governs video calls, live streaming, cloud backups and sending large emails. Often 5–10x slower than download on standard broadband.
Latency (Ping)
The round-trip time in milliseconds for a data packet to travel from your device to a server and back. Critical for gaming and real-time video calls. Under 20 ms is excellent; above 100 ms causes noticeable lag.
Bandwidth
The maximum capacity of your connection — think of it as the width of a pipe. Bandwidth determines how many simultaneous streams or devices your connection can support without slowing down.
Jitter
The variability in latency over time. A connection with 20 ms latency but 15 ms jitter will feel unstable. Low jitter (under 5 ms) is essential for smooth video calls and online gaming. Fibre connections typically have very low jitter.
Packet Loss
The percentage of data packets that fail to reach their destination. Even 1–2% packet loss causes visible stuttering in video calls and disconnections in games. A healthy connection should have 0% packet loss.
Ofcom 2024 UK Broadband Data: The average UK residential broadband download speed reached 69 Mbps in 2024, up from 59 Mbps in 2023. Average upload speed is 23 Mbps. Around 60% of UK premises can now access full-fibre (FTTP) broadband. The government's target is 85% gigabit-capable coverage by 2025. Source: Ofcom Connected Nations Report 2024.
What is a Good Broadband Speed in the UK?
The answer depends entirely on what you do online and how many people share the connection. Below are Ofcom-aligned benchmarks and our practical recommendations for UK households in 2026.
| Use Case | Minimum Speed | Recommended Speed | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic browsing & email | 1 Mbps | 5 Mbps | Even ADSL handles this comfortably |
| SD video streaming | 3 Mbps | 5 Mbps | Netflix SD requires 3 Mbps |
| HD video streaming (1080p) | 5 Mbps | 10 Mbps | Netflix HD requires 5 Mbps; 10 gives headroom |
| 4K Ultra HD streaming | 25 Mbps | 50 Mbps | Netflix, Disney+ 4K require 25 Mbps minimum |
| Video calls (HD) | 3 Mbps | 10 Mbps | Zoom HD needs 3 Mbps down / 1.5 Mbps up |
| Online gaming | 3 Mbps | 25 Mbps | Speed matters less than low latency (<30 ms ping) |
| Working from home | 10 Mbps | 30 Mbps | Ofcom recommends 30 Mbps for home workers |
| Smart home (10+ devices) | 25 Mbps | 100 Mbps | Each smart device consumes 1–5 Mbps passively |
| Large household (4+ users) | 50 Mbps | 200 Mbps | Multiple streams + gaming + WFH simultaneously |
| Game downloads / 4K content | 100 Mbps | 500 Mbps+ | 100 GB game downloads in under 30 minutes |
What is a Good Upload Speed?
Upload speed is chronically under-discussed but increasingly important. The rise of hybrid working, Zoom meetings, YouTube creation and cloud storage means a poor upload speed is genuinely limiting for millions of UK households.
Standard FTTC (fibre-to-the-cabinet) broadband — the kind most UK homes still have — delivers upload speeds of just 5–20 Mbps, even when download speeds reach 70 Mbps. Full-fibre (FTTP) connections are symmetric or near-symmetric, giving 50–500 Mbps both up and down.
| Upload Use Case | Minimum Upload | Comfortable Upload |
|---|---|---|
| SD video call (Zoom, Teams) | 0.5 Mbps | 1.5 Mbps |
| HD video call (1080p) | 1.5 Mbps | 5 Mbps |
| Working from home (general) | 5 Mbps | 10 Mbps |
| Cloud backup / large file uploads | 10 Mbps | 50 Mbps |
| Live streaming (Twitch / YouTube 1080p) | 6 Mbps | 15 Mbps |
| Live streaming (4K) | 25 Mbps | 50 Mbps |
UK ISP Broadband Package Speed Guide (2026)
Here is a practical overview of typical speeds from the UK's major ISPs. Note that advertised speeds are the "average" speeds at least 50% of customers receive during peak hours (8–10 pm) — your actual speed may differ depending on your location, property wiring and distance from the exchange or cabinet.
| ISP | Package | Avg Download | Avg Upload | Technology | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BT | Full Fibre 100 | 100 Mbps | 10 Mbps | FTTC | Households up to 3 people |
| BT | Full Fibre 500 | 500 Mbps | 75 Mbps | FTTP | Heavy users, WFH, gaming |
| Sky | Sky Superfast | 59 Mbps | 18 Mbps | FTTC | Streaming, general use |
| Sky | Sky Ultrafast+ | 500 Mbps | 500 Mbps | FTTP | Large households, power users |
| Virgin Media | M100 Fibre | 108 Mbps | 6 Mbps | Cable (HFC) | Average family household |
| Virgin Media | Gig1 Fibre | 1,130 Mbps | 52 Mbps | Cable (HFC) | Gigabit homes |
| EE | Full Fibre 100 | 100 Mbps | 20 Mbps | FTTP | Couples, small families |
| EE | Full Fibre 900 | 900 Mbps | 100 Mbps | FTTP | Gaming, 4K, WFH households |
| Plusnet | Fibre 2 | 66 Mbps | 15 Mbps | FTTC | Budget-conscious users |
| Hyperoptic | 1 Gbps | 1,000 Mbps | 1,000 Mbps | FTTP | Full symmetric gigabit |
FTTC vs FTTP: What's the Difference?
FTTC (Fibre to the Cabinet) — also called "fibre broadband" — runs fibre optic cable to a street cabinet, then uses old copper telephone wire for the final stretch to your home. This copper section limits speeds and is why upload speeds on "fibre" packages are often so low. Distance from the cabinet matters: homes more than 300 metres away may get significantly less than the advertised average.
FTTP (Fibre to the Premises) — full fibre — runs fibre optic cable all the way into your home. There is no copper bottleneck, so speeds are faster, more consistent, and upload speeds are much higher. Around 60% of UK premises can now access FTTP (Ofcom 2024), with coverage expanding rapidly.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Mbps mean?
Mbps stands for Megabits per second. It is the standard unit used to measure internet connection speeds. One Megabit equals 1,000,000 bits of data. When your ISP says your package is "100 Mbps", it means your connection can theoretically carry 100 million bits of data every second.
The key thing to remember: there are 8 bits in one byte. So when your download manager shows speeds in MB/s (Megabytes per second), you need to divide the Mbps figure by 8. A 100 Mbps broadband connection transfers files at roughly 12.5 MB/s — not 100 MB/s.
What is a good broadband speed for a UK household?
The UK average broadband download speed was 69 Mbps in 2024 according to Ofcom's Connected Nations Report. What "good" means depends on your household size:
- 1 person: 25–50 Mbps is more than enough for 4K streaming, working from home and gaming.
- 2–3 people: 50–100 Mbps handles simultaneous 4K streams, video calls and gaming comfortably.
- 4+ people or power users: 200 Mbps+ eliminates any risk of congestion during peak household usage.
- Tech enthusiasts / large families: 500 Mbps or 1 Gbps full-fibre is the gold standard, delivering fast game downloads and future-proofing.
What is a good upload speed in the UK?
The UK average upload speed is around 23 Mbps (Ofcom 2024). What counts as "good" depends on your activities:
- 5 Mbps upload: Minimum for comfortable HD video calls on Zoom or Teams.
- 10 Mbps upload: Good for working from home with regular video calls and file sharing.
- 20 Mbps+ upload: Comfortable for multiple video calls simultaneously, large cloud backups.
- 50 Mbps+ upload: Needed for live streaming at high quality, uploading large video files quickly.
Standard FTTC broadband often delivers just 5–20 Mbps upload despite offering 50–70 Mbps download. If upload speed is critical to you — especially for working from home — a full-fibre (FTTP) connection is well worth considering.
What is the difference between Mbps and MBps?
Mbps (lowercase b) = Megabits per second. Used by ISPs to advertise broadband speeds.
MBps or MB/s (uppercase B) = Megabytes per second. Used by operating systems, browsers and download managers to show file transfer speeds.
Since 1 byte = 8 bits, you divide Mbps by 8 to get MB/s. Examples:
- 35 Mbps broadband → ~4.4 MB/s file downloads
- 100 Mbps broadband → ~12.5 MB/s file downloads
- 500 Mbps broadband → ~62.5 MB/s file downloads
- 1000 Mbps (1 Gbps) broadband → ~125 MB/s file downloads
How many Mbps do I need for 4K streaming?
Netflix recommends a minimum of 25 Mbps for 4K Ultra HD streaming. Disney+ also recommends 25 Mbps for 4K content. Amazon Prime Video requires around 15–25 Mbps for 4K.
In practice, 35–50 Mbps gives a comfortable buffer for a single 4K stream when other devices are also connected. If multiple screens are streaming 4K simultaneously, you need to multiply accordingly — three 4K streams ideally require 75–100 Mbps of available bandwidth.
How do I calculate download time for a file?
Use the formula: Download time (seconds) = File size in megabits ÷ Connection speed in Mbps
Step-by-step example for a 10 GB file on a 100 Mbps connection:
- Convert file size to megabits: 10 GB × 1,000 × 8 = 80,000 Mb
- Divide by connection speed: 80,000 ÷ 100 = 800 seconds
- Convert to minutes: 800 ÷ 60 = 13.3 minutes
Use our Download Time Calculator above to do this instantly for any file size and connection speed.
What is latency and why does it matter?
Latency (commonly called ping) is the time in milliseconds (ms) it takes for a data packet to travel from your device to a server and return. Unlike Mbps (which is about volume), latency is about responsiveness.
Latency benchmarks:
- Under 10 ms: Excellent — competitive gaming, professional video calls
- 10–30 ms: Good — online gaming, smooth video calls
- 30–60 ms: Acceptable — general gaming, standard video calls
- 60–100 ms: Noticeable delay — gaming feels laggy
- Above 100 ms: Poor — real-time applications are impaired
Full-fibre broadband typically achieves 5–15 ms latency. ADSL averages 25–40 ms. Satellite broadband (geostationary) can exceed 600 ms, making gaming and video calls very difficult.
Why is my actual speed lower than the advertised speed?
Several factors cause real-world speeds to fall short of the advertised figure:
- Distance from cabinet/exchange (FTTC): Every 100 metres of copper cable reduces speed. Homes more than 500m from the cabinet often get significantly less than advertised.
- Peak-time congestion: ISPs share bandwidth between many customers. Evenings (8–10 pm) are typically the slowest time.
- Wi-Fi vs wired: Wi-Fi introduces overhead, interference and distance losses. A wired Ethernet connection almost always delivers faster, more consistent speeds.
- Router quality: An old or cheap router can bottleneck a fast connection. ISP-supplied routers are often adequate but not optimal.
- Older in-home wiring: Degraded telephone sockets and internal wiring reduce ADSL and FTTC speeds. Using an OpenReach-certified master socket can help.
Under Ofcom's Voluntary Code of Practice, ISPs must let you exit your contract penalty-free if they cannot deliver the minimum guaranteed speed they stated at the point of sale.