About how fast is 256 kbps Internet?

Question

My roommate and I are in college, so we're struggling for money! We need the Internet for our classes and we're getting the cheapest wireless we can get for $19.95 a month. It says the speed is 256 kbps.

Is that speed decent enough or is it going to be slow?

Answer 1

Your speed, which is 256 Kbps (Kilobits per second), is also 256 / 8 = 32 KB/s (Kilo Bytes per second). Most of the time, your computer displays download speeds in KB/s, not Kbps. So, if you are downloading a file at 32 KB/s, you making full use of your 256 Kbps bandwidth.

Bandwidth of 256 kbps is approximately six times faster than a dialup modem.

Answer 2

You'll probably get half to two-thirds of that speed on a normal basis.  It will be faster than nothing but there will also be plenty of times you will pull out your hair waiting for something to download.

I would not advise trying to view streaming video.

Answer 3

Depends on what your going to use it for.

Is this wireless that you can use anywhere?  Or from school?

Who is the ISP?

256 is about 5 times faster than your traditional dial up modem.

I have Verizone FIOS and have 10,000Kbps down and 2000Kbps up to put it into comparison.

However, if your not planning on gaming or downloading video, etc, you will be fine!

Answer 4

256kbs is SLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW !!!

i think the lowest level dsl from verizon for example is 756kbs

I currently use 15mbs and it's super fast