The speed or bandwidth of a broadband service indicates the capacity to transfer binary data over the connecting line and is measured in kilobits per second (Kbps) and megabits per second (Mbps) One byte corresponds to 8bits. It is necessary to understand the speed of a broadband service for selection of suitable package. The speed plays an important part in video and music streaming that requires a greater bandwidth compared with viewing a web site.

Broadband Speeds
No	Speed	Typical use	Remarks
1	256	Appropriate for viewing general web pages,	Taks about 3 seconds for the website to load. This speed is 5 time greater than the 56Kbps dial-up Internet connection.
2	512	Suitable for use in homes and small businesses.Also suitable for video and music streaming and for viewing most websites.	Takes 1.6 seconds for a website to load and about 1.5 minutes to download a 5 minute music file at maximum speed.
3	1Mbps	It is also commonly used in homes and small businesses.Appropriate for website viewing, streaming and online gaming	Takes 0.8 seconds to load a web page and about 40 seconds to download a 5 minute music file at maximum speed.
4	2Mbps	Suitable for people who play a lot of demanding online games. Also suitable for sharing one Internet connection between many PC’s.	Takes 0.4 seconds to load a website and about 20 seconds to download a 5 minute music file at maximum speed.
5	8Mbps (ADSL Max)	Many providers are now offering this option.	A variable speed product. Your provider will give you the maximum speed that your line can support (up to 8mbps) and the upload speeds are also increased.
6	24Mbps (ADSL2+)	This is known as ultra fast broadband offered by some providers (Cable up to 10mbps). Good for watching realtime DVD quality films.	The speed will depend on how close you are to the exchange, the quality of the copper wire and .interference .