2024 Bandwidth Breakdown

Top Data-Consuming Internet Activities U.S. Households

How you use the internet directly affects how much bandwidth your internet needs. But what exactly is bandwidth, how does it differ from data and which online activities are the biggest internet hogs?

Data and bandwidth use are closely related, but they measure different aspects of internet activity:

Data is the amount of information you send or receive online. It’s measured in gigabytes (GB). Think of it like how much content you consume or share.

Bandwidth is the speed of your internet. It’s how fast data moves through your connection, measured in megabits per second (Mbps).

In short, activities that use a lot of data, like streaming videos or gaming, also need high speed to work well.

Now that you know what’s using up your internet speed, it’s a good time to see if your plan is still good for your needs. With more devices and online activities, make sure your plan can keep up. If it can’t, it might be time to upgrade.

Click here to see if Smart Way Communications can serve your high-speed internet needs and check out our Speed Guide to see recommended speeds that’s right for you and your family’s internet use.

Sources:
Statista, “The Most Popular Streaming Services in the U.S.,” 2024​ (Statista).
Learn Hub, “55+ Powerful Streaming Statistics to Know in 2024″​ (Learn Hub | G2).