What does 100/100 Mbps internet speed mean and why should you care?
April 5, 2021 ‒ If you have recently been required to work from home, do homeschooling, participate in telemedicine or other online meeting platform, chances are you have run into trouble with internet speed.
Perhaps your internet service provider (ISP) offers some level of high-speed internet to your location but offerings can vary widely. The Lamoille FiberNet Communications Union District is working to make locally controlled and reliable high-speed internet service available to every address in our eight member towns in the county and educate people on the options available. Expanding broadband to every address will take time to be sure, but the goal is to eventually deliver 100/100 Mbps level service.
Why should you care?
25 Mbps (upload and download) is considered high-speed internet according to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). In many cases, with bandwidth requirements today and looking to the future, this is still not adequate.
The reason to strive for 100/100 Mbps speed is that household demands for internet service are growing exponentially. In order to support multiple family members at home with work, schoolwork, online meetings, telemedicine and gaming, the need for fast broadband speed is only going to grow even post-pandemic. These a few of the most common use cases, in addition to all of the connected devices in a home. When you see a reference to 100/100 Mbps, this means it addresses both upload and download speeds which again is what we are striving toward. Download speed is important for things like streaming Netflix or music but upload speed is also critical for activities such as online meetings and telemedicine.
To test what your current upload/download speed is, there is a handy tool at https://www.speedtest.net/
There is a good resource on the overall subject here: https://www.tomsguide.com/us/internet-speed-what-you-need,news-24289.html
Submitted by Chris Foran, Lamoille FiberNet Board Member
The mission of Lamoille FiberNet Communications Union District (LFCUD) is to make locally controlled, affordable and reliable high-speed internet service available to every address in our member towns – Belvidere, Cambridge, Eden, Hyde Park, Johnson, Morristown, Stowe, and Waterville. For more info, go to http://www.LamoilleFiber.net.
