Is 6,000 kbits/sec download enough for me? - Germany

hi,

i am computer illiterate. and i just moved to a new flat and am thinking to set up internet with kabel deutschland. and, i need to choose between paket classic (6000 kbits download) and paket comfort (32 mbit download).

i use internet radio a lot, skype, and some youtube type video stuff. is 6000 kbits download enough, or, should i pay double and go for the fancy 32 mbit?

thanks,

potato

Choosing your download speed is a bit like buying a car. So it can be a bit personal, but at the same time do you need a 4.8 litre engine to get to the supermarket?

Based on what you said you do, then 6 mbit should be plenty. The extra speed is only really useful if you download a lot of content, video, MP3 etc. But even then, the download site itself must have sufficient bandwidth to allow this (a lot still don't, so extra speed on your side won't help. But things are getting better). I personally have 6 mbit and do about the same as you, no problem.

Skype, internet radio and YouTube all work more than adequately on lower bandwidths.

You will also find a difference between ISPs. I have the same speed on FreeNet as I previously had on my old supplier, but Freenet is much faster and I notice a difference. I don't know what kabel Deutschland are like, maybe others can advise.

But as I said, it is a bit personal. So you have to decide do you want to pay twice as much, or not and if you will use it. What you could consider is starting at 6 mbit and then if you find it too slow upgrade. When you sign a contract then your ISP is always happy to upsell you to a higher tariff plan, but often won't allow you to downsize as it would be considered a breach of the contract.

Short answer: for the things you've described, 6000kbit/sec (ie. 6mbit/sec) is probably fine.

Things to consider:

- Are you using the video chat feature of Skype? If so, then the download speed (6mbit/sec) is important, but so is the UPLOAD speed. The Kabel Deutschland website shows the upload speed on the Paket Classic as 460kbit/sec (ie. arround 0.5mbit/sec), which should be OK for a two-way video chat with Skype, but might be getting a bit on the slow side. It would be fine for normal voice chat. The speed of your computer is also important for video chat.

- I suggest you check if you can upgrade down the track. Then you can try out the slower and cheaper option, and upgrade to the faster option down the track if you find you need extra speed. (The Packet Deluxe apparently has an upload speed of 2000kbit/sec, ie. 2 mbit/sec, which should be plenty for Skype video.)

- Make sure you know what (if any) your monthly download limit is in gigabytes (GB). And if there is any upload limit. This is not the speed of the connection, but a measure of how much information you can pull down (or push up) over the connection over the course of a month (ie. how many videos you can watch, how much Skyping you can do, etc etc). The Kabel Deutschland website seems to suggest that it is unlimited, so that means this point is probably not an issue for you at all, and you can disregard it. Perhaps someone else who uses Kabel Deutstchland as a provider can confirm if they are genuinely unlimited.

Caveats:

- I have no experience with Kabel Deutschland. I use Unitymedia, with a 10mbit/sec download & 768kbit/sec (ie. 0.8mbit/sec) upload. Skype video works fine for me at those speeds (apart from occasional computer problems, which are nothing to do with my Internet connection itself).

- I am relatively new to Germany, and most of my comments above, while generic and almost definitely being appropriate for Germany, come mostly from experience with the Internet in Australia.

- My comments also assume that the provider themselves is a high quality provider. It's no good having a fast connection to the provider, if they themselves have a slow connection to the Internet. But presumably Kabel Deutschland, being (I think) one of the largest providers are definitely a high quality provider. I just don't have any experience with them, that's all.

I hope this was helpful. Have fun!

[EDIT: D'oh! The DJ beat me to it!]

Correction: just looked at the Skype website, and it says only a minimum of 256kbit/sec (0.3mbit/sec) upload bandwidth required for video calls. So the slower (6000mbit/sec) plan should be fine for that.

As a recent user of Skype Video calls, I can say that those figures are wrong.. I have 1.5MB Upstream and the video calls
were still choppy. No it wasn't the connection on the other side either as they have a faster Down/Up stream then I do.
Skype's servers are typically overloaded and they have yet to update them or add more to handle the 11-12mil users
that are logged in daily..

If the 32/2 package from KD isn't that much more than the 6/.5 package then get it instead. Also the figures quoted
by ISPs are the Max limits. Most of the time the actual speeds are slower, so get a connection as fast as you can afford.

As the others have said the big number downstream speed is primarily there for marketing purposes, like the number of megapixels on a digital camera, as most people are capable of realising, and usually blindly believe, that big numbers are good. However the story is always much more complicated as in reality people on XXMbit packets may never actually achieve those rates because contention on their line is too high (ie. the cheapskate provider is sharing the line with too many other people and it's overloaded).

For you, in simple terms, the 6Mbit package will probably be fine for everything you'll ever do and plenty for internet radio and voice telephone. I simply track Telekom's basic package (currently 6Mbit I think) and upgrade when they phone me up and tell me it's available for free.

6Mbit is more than enough, I used skype et al on a 3Mbit connection until I was upgraded recently, remember your upload speed (which is slower) is usually more important for the session quality.

6kbit has been fast enough for me so far. As said above, the nice big number they say will not be what you get 100% of the time.

Doing anything online is like the saying about chains being as strong as their weakest link.
Your connection speed to any given resource is only going to be as quick as the slowest link in the chain. That may not always be you. IN fact, 90% of the time it will not be you.

You could have a 32+kbit connection but if the server throwing out what you want is busy sending out a lot of stuff you will wait longer than your connection speed would suggest.

The only time I have really noticed the difference between my old 2knbit and my new 6kbit is when just looking at websites (email etc). Plus, like many things in life, after 3 to 4 weeks you will be none the wiser, things will be as they are. You will get used to it and it will be normal.

The classic package from KD does not include telephone flat rate (it include it only for the first 3 months), then you will have to pay for your phone calls. If you are not planning to make any German phone calls then that's not a problem.

thanks everyone

i think i go with the paket classic then.

i do not really need flat rate for german landline because i have the skype unlimited world (flat rate for landlines here and many countries around the world), but is nice to have a phone, to receive calls without turning on the computer.

thanks again,

potato

Out of curiosity, how did the 6k work for you? I also wonder if it is going to be enough for me and it seems to be everyone's basic package.