Internet speed is one of those numbers that gets thrown around in advertising without much context. “Gigabit internet” sounds impressive. “Up to 100 Mbps” sounds fast. But whether any given speed is enough for your household depends entirely on what your household does — and most people have no framework for thinking about it clearly.

This guide gives you that framework.

The Two Numbers That Matter

Internet speed has two components: download and upload.

Download speed is how fast data comes to you — streaming video, loading websites, receiving email attachments, downloading files. This is the number advertisers emphasize because it’s usually the larger of the two.

Upload speed is how fast data goes from you — video call transmission, sending files, cloud backups, security camera footage. This number is typically much smaller, and it’s where most providers shortchange customers.

For households where everyone consumes content (streaming, gaming, browsing), download speed dominates. For households with remote workers or content creators, upload speed matters just as much.

The Devices in Your Home

Every device actively using your internet draws bandwidth. Not devices that are on — devices that are actively doing something. Your smart TV streaming 4K uses about 25 Mbps. Your teenager gaming uses about 5 Mbps. Your laptop on a video call uses about 5 Mbps up and 5 Mbps down. Your phone checking email uses less than 1 Mbps.

Add up what’s happening at your household’s busiest time — typically a weekday evening — and you have your real requirement.

A family of four with two video streamers, one gamer, and two laptops doing light work simultaneously needs roughly:

2 × 25 Mbps (streaming) = 50 Mbps down
1 × 5 Mbps (gaming) = 5 Mbps down
2 × 5 Mbps (browsing) = 10 Mbps down
Buffer for background updates and smart home devices = 20 Mbps

Total: approximately 85 Mbps download. That’s a real requirement, not a made-up upsell number.

Why Upload Speed Matters More Than You Think

Most residential plans are asymmetric — download much faster than upload. For households of pure consumers, that’s fine. But upload speed affects more people than they realize.

Video calls upload your camera feed continuously. At 5 Mbps up per call, a household with two adults on simultaneous work calls needs 10 Mbps up before anything else.

Security cameras upload footage to cloud storage. A system with four cameras can consume significant upload bandwidth continuously.

Backup software (iCloud, Google Drive, OneDrive) uploads your files in the background. On a slow upload connection, this process can take hours and interfere with other upload activities.

Is More Always Better?

Within reason, yes. But the practical ceiling for most households is around 200 Mbps. Beyond that, you’re paying for speed that no normal household workflow consumes. A 1 Gbps plan does not make your Netflix stream faster than a 100 Mbps plan — Netflix caps at 25 Mbps per stream regardless of what your connection can deliver.

Where speed helps beyond the basics: households with many simultaneous users, large file transfers (video editing, large datasets), and frequent large software downloads (game updates across multiple devices).

What STI Delivers

Our Velocity 400 plan delivers 400 Mbps download and 25 Mbps upload for $65/month with no data caps. For virtually every rural South Texas household — including large families, households with remote workers, and homes with dedicated gamers — that’s more than enough headroom.

The 25 Mbps upload is the number we’re most proud of in the context of rural broadband. DSL commonly delivers 3–10 Mbps up. Starlink delivers 5–15 Mbps up in South Texas. Our 25 Mbps up changes the experience for remote workers and anyone with cloud-heavy workflows.

Call (830) 429-4149 to check your address. Installation is typically within one business day.