An Oldie-But-Goofy: The Download Chart
ISP’s have been using variations of this thing for years to sell broadband snake oil. Funny thing is, when you look closely it actually makes the opposite point.
I am really shocked at how often I see some form of this chart on various ISP websites, and even in documents from people who should know better but are trying to make a point. Now it isn’t technically wrong, but as I said – it is really goofy.
How? Well, let’s start off with that 1 Mbps plan. Really? Unless you are still on DSL (and not even good DSL), speeds that low are almost unheard of. But it makes for a more dramatic comparison because of the 33 hour number it adds to the table. Ugh! Nobody wants to wait 33 hours to start watching their movie!
Oh, wait – do you really download a lot of TV shows and 4K movies? Probably not, because under most circumstances that is illegal. You probably stream movies and TV, but that works in a completely different way. As my favorite Wall Street Journal article showed, it’s hard to sustain more than 6-to-8 Mbps of usage, even with multiple simultaneous streams. So we can ignore those rows completely.
Focus your attention on the things you might actually do sometimes – download music, or maybe a photo or video of your family, or a big file for work – basically the nine white cells in the upper right. Now look the real-life difference between 20 Mbps and 1 Gbps. Yep, it’s a whopping 10 seconds per download. While that difference is real it’s also largely irrelevant. Take a sip of coffee and a deep breath and it’s over.
It’s even less relevent when you consider all of the other things that can impact your download time. If your file is originating from an overloaded server, or one behind a slow connection, no amount of additional speed at your end will help. It will also pass through multiple ISP’s – possibly across several states or even countries – before it gets to your broadband provider. Then it goes through your router, maybe a weak Wi-Fi connection in your home, then finally to you.
In summary, what our goofy chart really says (assuming that your ISP is providing at least basic broadband service) is to relax. You probably won’t ever wait for more that a few seconds to a couple minutes to download most anything you’ll need. But if you ever see a chart like this from a current or prospective provider trying to sell you something, be wary – they are either desperate or incompetent. Probably both.
