One of the most common questions we hear from prospective customers is some version of: “Is your internet fast enough for streaming?” The second most common: “Can my kid actually game on this?” These are fair questions — and the honest answer is yes, with the right setup and the right connection.

Here’s a straight breakdown of what streaming and gaming actually require, what different internet technologies deliver, and how to make sure your household has what it needs.

What Streaming Actually Requires

Streaming is primarily a download speed activity. Here’s what the major platforms recommend:

Netflix: 5 Mbps for HD (1080p), 15 Mbps for 4K. Per device — if two TVs are streaming simultaneously, multiply accordingly.

YouTube and YouTube TV: 7 Mbps for HD, 20 Mbps for 4K.

Disney+, Hulu, Max: around 5 Mbps for HD, 16–25 Mbps for 4K.

A household with three people streaming HD simultaneously needs about 15–20 Mbps of dedicated bandwidth for video alone. Add smart home devices, phones, tablets, and background app updates, and the real-world requirement for a modern household is typically 50–100 Mbps to run everything without anyone noticing bandwidth constraints.

At 400 Mbps, STI’s Velocity 400 plan handles a household full of simultaneous streamers without breaking a sweat. You’re not managing who can watch what — everyone just watches what they want.

What Online Gaming Actually Requires

Gaming requirements are different from streaming and misunderstood in a specific way: gaming doesn’t need a lot of bandwidth. Modern online games use 1–10 Mbps at most during active play. The data footprint of a game session is modest.

What gaming does need — critically — is low latency and consistency.

Latency is the delay between your controller input and the game server’s response. In fast-paced games — shooters, battle royales, real-time strategy — 20ms latency and 100ms latency feel completely different. STI’s fixed wireless network delivers under 50ms latency and often under 30ms.

Starlink’s latency of 20–60ms is theoretically in a similar range, but it’s more variable — it spikes during congestion in ways that fixed wireless doesn’t. Consistent latency matters more than average latency for gaming. DSL can deliver adequate latency in some configurations but not reliably.

Game Downloads: The Bandwidth Reality Check

Here’s where bandwidth does matter for gaming: downloading games. Modern titles are 50–100 GB, sometimes more. With software updates, DLC, and patches, a household that games regularly downloads hundreds of gigabytes per year.

At 400 Mbps, a 100 GB game download takes about 22 minutes. At 25 Mbps, the same download takes about 6 hours. At 10 Mbps (DSL territory), it takes 22 hours — assuming nothing else is using your connection.

Data Caps: The Rural Internet Tax

Some internet providers — particularly DSL and satellite providers like HughesNet — impose monthly data limits. When you hit the cap, your speeds drop to unusable levels or you pay overage charges.

Streaming and gaming are high-data activities. A household that streams heavily and games regularly can consume 300–500 GB per month without trying. On a capped plan, that means constant monitoring, restricted use, or significant overage charges.

STI’s Velocity 400 plan includes unlimited data. No caps, no throttling, no overage fees. Ever.

The Bottom Line

For households where streaming and gaming matter: 100+ Mbps download for comfortable streaming across multiple devices, low consistent latency under 50ms for gaming, and unlimited data so nobody has to police usage.

STI’s fixed wireless delivers on all three. Call (830) 429-4149 to check your address. Installation is typically within one business day. No contracts, no equipment purchase, no data caps.