Internet Speed Challenge, How Fast Is Yours And What’s Enough

When I lie asleep at night I often dream of my internet. I dream that I live somewhere in North America where internet is cheap and I have a 1 Gbps symmetrical line. The comedown comes when I wake up to the sound of our annoying house bird and realise I somewhere in my beloved country.

To be fair my Wibroniks is quite awesome, it is what I have dreamt of for years. On good days I can watch MKBHD and other Youtube videos in 4K, just as God intended. The connection chews through 1080P like it’s silk no matter the time of day. But a 1 Gbps fibre connection it is not.

I first went online using my own money back in 2008. This was a dial-up connection made via analogue phone lines up from the dark caves of Nyanga. The result was a pathetic 25.4 kbps and you actually had to wait for the Google logo to load.

Then I used to dream of a 1 Mbps internet connection. Years later I got one and discovered I needed more. A 2 Mbps connection was all I needed. That would allow me to play YouTube movies in SD with no buffering issues. Hey, that was before VP9 okay?

When it happened I wanted a 3 Mbps just like it said on Netflix, so I could watch 1080p more consistently you know. That lasted for like two months when I suddenly got it into my head that I needed a 5 Mpbs connection so I could watch live streams in HD on uHuruTV and Facebook .

Long story, ZOL happened and I skipped all the way to 15 Mbps. I am loving it but I kind of realise its not enough. My kids want to watch Peppa Pig in HD while I am working and sometimes we have a problem.

How fast is enough?

Which leaves me to wonder, am I normal? Do all people go through the same cycles of excitement/urgent need, satisfaction and before quickly going back to longing?