If you're connected via wifi to the modem using a router, your speed will be significantly reduced. If you have more than one device connected via wifi, it is reduced even more.
Example is my own situation:
I have the 50mg option, which was upgraded automatically (at no additional cost to me) to 100.
I have a netgear modem and a netgear router that I purchased at staples, designed to handle up to 1gb max. So I'm obviously WELL under that max.
My router is connected to the modem.
My desktop computer is connected by wire to the router. My printer, laptop, tablet, 2 cell phones, and the TV in the other room are all connected via wifi. And yes, my printer is actually connected to the internet, I can send a print request to it from anywhere in the world and my sister sometimes sends me pictures that way since I gave her network permissions.
At the moment, the only thing I have actually turned on is the desktop, printer, and my cell phone. My download speed is 86, upload is 6.
When the TV is on in the other room, it usually goes down to around 60. If I'm streaming video at the same time, it takes a dip further. The lowest speed I've had my 100mbps network running was around 25, when I was having trouble with my desktop and had to port information from the cloud to a flash drive on my laptop, and change passwords with special security tests that got sent to my tablet, all while hubby was watching a movie on TV.
Unless you're running a lot of programs and applications on a huge business network, you really have little or no need to a 1gb speed - and you will rarely ever hit that fast anyway. If it doesn't buffer at 50mbps, it will "not buffer" no more flawlessly at 1gb. There's no benefit to ultra-high speed, for just normal regular household use.
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