How Good is 1 Gig Internet? Everything You Need to Know

Hey friend! Have you heard about "gigabit internet" offers from providers promising insane speeds up to 1000 Mbps? You‘re probably wondering how good is 1 gig internet really? Is it worth paying more for blazing fast speeds? I‘ve done tons of research on this topic, and want to share everything I‘ve learned to help you decide if you need gigabit in your home.

In short, 1 gig internet is extremely fast – roughly 10 times quicker than average speeds today. It provides an amazing amount of capacity for high data usage households. But most people can get by fine with much slower speeds for basic web browsing and streaming.

Let‘s take a deeper look at what exactly 1 gig speed means, who really benefits, and whether it‘s worth upgrading to gigabit internet.

What Does 1 Gigabit Internet Mean?

The term "gigabit internet" refers to broadband connections with speeds of 1,000 megabits per second (Mbps) or faster. Here‘s a quick refresher on internet speed measurements:

• 1 gigabit (Gbps) = 1000 megabits (Mbps)
• 1 megabit (Mbps) = 1000 kilobits (Kbps)

So in megabytes (MB), a common computer file size measurement, gigabit equates to 125 MB per second.

To give you perspective, the average internet speed worldwide is just 59 Mbps. And in the United States it‘s around 119 Mbps according to Ookla Speedtest.

That makes 1 gigabit internet nearly 10 times faster than typical internet speeds most people have access to today. Just a few years back, hitting 1000 Mbps seemed outrageous. But now several major internet providers offer 1 gig plans in select areas.

But do regular households really need blazing fast gigabit internet? Let‘s look at the benefits and who can really take advantage of speeds this quick.

Key Benefits of 1 Gigabit Internet

There are several advantages to having gigabit level speeds in your home:

• 4K and high quality streaming – No worries about resolution, buffering or bandwidth for multiple streams
• Online gaming – Excellent for multiplayer gaming, downloading games, streaming gameplay
• Videoconferencing – Flawless performance for remote work and virtual hangouts
• Smart homes – Supports numerous bandwidth-heavy smart devices like security cameras

Essentially, a 1 gigabit connection offers almost unlimited capacity that can handle heavy data usage across dozens of devices without slowing down. For example, you could have family members streaming 4K movies, playing online games, video chatting, while also having a fully connected smart home – and gigabit could handle it with ease.

While gigabit plans are still relatively new, experts project internet speeds will continue growing rapidly. According to Cisco‘s Global Networking Trends, the average fixed broadband speed will nearly double from 2018 to 2023, reaching 110 Mbps globally.

Several countries already average over 150 Mbps including Singapore, Sweden, Denmark and Norway according to speedtest.net. So what seems extremely fast today may become much more commonplace in just a few years.

Do You Really Need 1 Gig Speed?

So who exactly benefits from 1 gigabit internet? With average speeds climbing into the 100+ Mbps range, do regular households even need gigabit performance?

The short answer is not really – most households can get by fine with much slower speeds for typical internet usage.

Light activities like email, social media, web browsing require very little bandwidth – usually less than 25 Mbps. Even streaming HD video on a few devices concurrently rarely requires over 100 Mbps.

Neflix themselves recommend just 25 Mbps for 4K streaming, and most online games use less than 10 Mbps. Ookla notes that with 100 Mbps, you should have enough bandwidth for a household of power users.

But gigabit internet provides plenty of headroom for extreme usage cases today and growth into the future. Having nearly unlimited bandwidth available means you never have to think about capacity or slowing down, no matter how many devices you add or how heavily you use the internet.

Who Really Needs Gigabit Internet?

While not required for most homes, here are some situations where a 1 gigabit internet connection would be beneficial:

• Households with 5+ people on multiple devices and streaming high quality video
• Smart homes with many cloud-connected devices like security cameras and video doorbells
• People who frequently upload/download very large files for work
• Businesses hosting cloud services or servers that need massive bandwidth
• Networks with 50+ connected devices like computers, phones, TVs, game consoles

Essentially if you have high data needs across a ton of devices simultaneously, gigabit internet can provide some headroom and future-proofing. The ultra fast speeds and huge capacity mean you never have to worry about congestion or speed slowdowns when usage spikes.

Availability of Gigabit Internet Providers

A few major internet providers now offer gigabit speed plans:

• Xfinity – Offers speeds up to 1000 Mbps in select areas
• AT&T Fiber – Advertises symmetrical gigabit connections
• Verizon Fios – Has plans up to 940/880 Mbps depending on area
• Spectrum – Spectrum Gig provides up to 1000 Mbps

The availability of gigabit internet depends heavily on your location, since it requires fiber optic cabling to homes. Verizon Fios generally has the most widespread availability of plans up to 1 gigabit.

But all major cable and fiber providers are expanding gigabit networks, concentrating first on densely populated metro areas. You can check each company‘s website to see if gigabit speeds are offered in your neighborhood.

How Does Gigabit Compare to 5G?

You may be wondering how 5G cellular networks compare to wired gigabit internet. 5G can technically achieve similar speeds to fiber optic, hitting gigabit speeds in ideal conditions.

But average 5G speeds in the real world are still much lower, averaging 50 to 150 Mbps typically. And performance drops off rapidly with distance from cell towers.

So fiber and cable will continue providing faster and more consistent gigabit speeds in homes. But 5G offers the convenience of mobile data on-the-go when you can‘t connect to WiFi.

Is Upgrading to Gigabit Worth it?

At the end of the day, is paying more per month for gigabit speed worthwhile?

For moderate internet usage, gigabit provides more capacity than most households need. Upgrading from 100 Mbps to 1 Gbps will cost $20 – $50 more with most providers. For that price bump, you may not see dramatic improvements in internet experience for basic activities.

But for homes with extremely high data demands, the benefits can be substantial. Eliminating any concerns over bandwidth limitations or speed slowdowns can greatly improve the connectivity experience.

In my opinion, gigabit internet is worth considering if:

• You have a smart home with many bandwidth-heavy devices
• Your household has 5+ members streaming HD/4K video simultaneously
• You work from home and transfer very large files regularly

Otherwise, you can probably stick with lower speed tiers to save some money. But gigabit-level speeds will likely become the norm over next 5-10 years. So upgrading now future-proofs your home as usage continues growing.

I hope this overview gives you a good sense of what 1 gig internet means and who really benefits from blazing fast gigabit speeds. Let me know if you have any other questions!