New Year, New Internet! Use Pulse's Handy Guide to Help Determine What Type of Connectivity Will Serve You Best in 2023

2023 New Year, New Internet!

Today’s homes and businesses are brimming with connected devices – TVs, watches, phones, washing machines, health-monitoring jewelry, security devices, you name it! With Pulse’s rock-solid fiber-optic network, Lovelanders can confidently stay connected no matter their streaming and internet needs. To think through the speed that makes sense for you, consider the total number of devices and how much bandwidth each one consumes.

Counting Devices

Use the following list to ensure you don’t miss any device.

  • Start with personal devices – laptop, tablet, cell phone, watch, gaming devices, etc.
  • Do the same for every other adult using the connection.
  • Think through all of the smart TVs, including televisions that use a streaming device (e.g., Amazon Fire Stick, AppleTV, etc.)
  • Count children’s laptops, tablets, and cell phones.
  • Finally, count home devices like smart speakers (think Alexa-Echo or Google Home devices), doorbells (ex. Ring), irrigation controllers, security video cameras, appliances (robot vacuum to sous vides), thermostats, and security systems.

Consider The Bandwidth

Bandwidth is the maximum capacity a connection can deliver. Higher bandwidth means more data can be sent to and from more devices. Remember, certain devices use more bandwidth than others. For example, 4K smart TVs use a lot to stream programs – so, if you have multiple smart TVs streaming simultaneously on a small bandwidth connection, you may experience buffering.

Whether using an internet connected mobile phone for a simple web search, or engaging in a more intensive activity like watching YouTube, if your kids are actively using their cell phones, expect they are consuming bandwidth. Laptops and tablets consume bandwidth for gaming or file sharing. Even your Echo smart assistance will take up bandwidth if you’re streaming music while getting dinner prepared.

Adding It All Up and Upgrading Your Connection

Upgrading your internet will improve the performance of all the devices in your home. Increasing connectivity ensures everyone can use their devices at the same time without experiencing slowdowns! Selecting Pulse’s My Gig – a gigabit of symmetrical connectivity per second –  means that nobody needs to take turns on video conferences for work, or who streams which show or movie at a given time, or plays online games against their friends. Give our friendly, locally-based Customer Service team a call 970-541-4990 so we can answer all your questions and help you choose the best internet speed plan to meet your device and bandwidth needs, or visit us online at pulsefiber.org

About Pulse

Pulse offers multi-gigabit-speed Internet, PulseTV, and Voice services on a fiber-optic fast network. The community-owned fiber utility is built with a promise to connect the entire Loveland community, be transparent with rates and speeds, and provide local service and responsiveness second to none. Please visit pulsefiber.org to learn more.