How much broadband speed do you really need?

Adequate broadband speed is officially defined at around 30Mbps (Megabits per second).

That’s not a spelling mistake. There are eight ‘bits’ in a ‘byte’. Tech lesson aside, this is enough for the basic needs of most people, including streaming movies on Netflix.

But if you’re a gamer or need to upload huge files for work you may need a lot more than that.

Most providers have speeds of up to 100Mbps if you’re lucky enough to live in a well-serviced area. But, as we know, there are few more abused words in the English language than ‘up to’!

Top speeds of 100Mbps should give an average above 30Mbps, and should be enough for most people who want to stream Netflix and send emails.

But if you need to send huge files for work purposes, you may need more.

Independent speed test platform Ookla has revealed that Virgin Media customers are achieving average top speeds of 209Mbps, which makes the provider’s broadband service the fastest in Ireland.

This is the main reason Virgin Media scooped the plaudits for the fastest broadband provider from both Bonkers and Switcher.

In fact, Virgin Media has been named as ‘Ireland’s fastest broadband provider’ by Ookla for the third year running.

Ookla’s test measured the top speeds being delivered by Ireland’s providers from March to August last year and found that Virgin Media’s top speeds were more than twice that of its nearest rival, eir.