Wednesday, October 8, 2014

What is the Difference Between Download Speed and Upload Speed?

What is the Difference Between Download Speed and Upload Speed?


Author: Emily Hayes


As you shop around for the speediest Internet connection money can buy, you might hear the terms 'download speed' and 'upload speed.'  Sales people are always pointing at those numbers to show the superiority of their particular products.  What do those terms actually mean, and what do the speeds mean to your every day life?

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With a broadband Internet connection, signals are bounced up to satellites and then back to your receiver box on an almost continual basis any time you're using your Internet connection.  Signals coming from the satellite are said to be 'downloads' and signals coming from your computer are said to be 'uploads.'

So, signals the satellite sends, such as browser windows and web pages, are downloads.  Signals you send, such as emails containing attachments and web order forms, are uploads.

Many other people are probably using the same signal bandwidth at the same time you are, especially during peak times.  When you're sharing the bandwidth, everyone's speed does slow down somewhat.  When shopping for the best Internet connection possible, this typical speed is the number to watch out for.

Loading web pages is what most people do when they are using the Internet.  When you click on a blue hyperlink on a web page and go to another page, your browser loads many text files, picture files, and sometimes video files or scripts.

These items deliver information to you and let you interact with the web site.  More and more websites are including hidden scripts that make objects on the page flash, scroll, and pop up.

The more complex a web page is, the longer it takes to load into your browser window.  That's where a high-speed broadband satellite Internet connection comes in to play.  The download speeds coming from the satellite are 600 kilobytes per second at peak times when many people are using the same band width.

This is super fast!  At times when few others are using the bandwidth, web pages download at a 1 megabyte per second rate, which is so fast even the most complex pages seem to appear instantly.

Upload speeds also vary depending on the time of day.  If you attach a photo to an email then click ‘send', the broadband satellite signal sets to work uploading the file to your email service provider to send on to your friends.  The bigger the attachment, the longer it takes to forward the email to the email provider.  Top upload speeds for satellite broadband are usually 128 kilobytes per second, and peak hour speeds can drop to 80 kilobytes per second.

You can usually choose between various broadband satellite Internet packages to choose the right speed for your family.  Most home users find the download and upload speeds with the basic package to be plenty of speed to check email and look at pictures and videos.  Someone with a home-based business might want a speed upgrade, and anyone who does graphic design, website design, or Internet publishing would certainly need the top speed available.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/communication-articles/what-is-the-difference-between-download-speed-and-upload-speed-764255.html

About the Author

As America's leading satellite internet service provider, Hughes Net delivers broadband speeds up to 50x faster than dial-up. Service is available anywhere in the contiguous U.S., and with lease options and free standard installation, getting started with