What speed broadband do I need to work from home?

13 June 2024
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Remote working isn’t going away any time soon. According to the Office of National Statistics, 44% of UK workers either worked from home or had a hybrid working pattern. With this in mind, having a decent home broadband speed is essential to keep connected when working from home. 

Your best broadband speed for home use varies depending on your internet usage. People whose job depends on important video calls will need a faster speed compared to those who only carry out light emailing. 

Other things, like whether you live with other people who game or use streaming services regularly also affect what broadband speed you’ll need. 

Ogi can help you work out what your best broadband speed is and how to make sure your home has the right connection for essential work calls.  

Working from home broadband speed needs

Your best broadband speed for home use will vary depending on what kind of job you do. If you don’t browse the internet a great deal, your broadband requirements are less compared to people who upload large files or have regular video meetings. 

If you make video conferencing calls, stream higher-quality video, or download large files, speeds over 150 Mbps are enough to handle your greater broadband needs.  

Social media and light browsing don’t need as fast a connection. The average household needs 25 Mbps minimum, which is enough for a few devices with general internet use. 

Despite this, your ideal home broadband speed will depend on how other household members use the internet. 

If you have housemates or family members who also work from home, stream video, or are gaming enthusiasts, you’ll need a faster internet connection compared to people who live by themselves. 

Video files can be over 100 GB, so with the average household internet speed of 25 Mbps, a 100 GB file may take over an hour to fully download. 

This can take valuable time away from other home working tasks, so if you have other household members and plan to send emails, make Zoom calls, stream 4K video, and browse the net a lot, your home broadband speed should be well over 100 Mbps. 

If you don’t browse the internet a great deal, your broadband requirements are less compared to people who upload large files or have regular video meetings.

Is full fibre broadband essential for working from home?

If you live alone, you’ll probably have lower bandwidth requirements, so you won’t need extremely speedy home broadband speed. 

Nevertheless, you will need a relatively quick, stable internet connection that can handle your home working requirements, as well as additional devices that use your internet connection while you’re working. 

Over half of the homes in the UK have access to full fibre broadband, making it the most popular internet connection used within the UK. These connections give you fast speeds and let you use several devices at the same time. 

Fibre broadband connections have been integrated into further rural areas and are generally more affordable compared to the past. Additionally, with the Digital Switchover approaching soon at the end of 2025, it’s worth switching if you’re not on fibre yet. 

At Ogi, we have several full fibre plans suitable for a range of home broadband speed requirements. Our plans give you your very own fibre optic line that runs directly to your door, giving you ultrafast, reliable home broadband speed. 

If your home working requirements involve video conference calls, or uploading or downloading large data files, our Ogi 500 plan is ideal for you. This gives you an average download speed of 500 Mbps, which is also great for bigger homes with several devices. 

Those who live and work from home alone, without others simultaneously using your internet connection, will do best with our Ogi 200 plan. With an average download speed of 200 Mbps, this plan will support smaller homes that carry out general browsing and streaming. 

However, if you have a home-run business with a few employees using your broadband connection, you should consider our Ogi 1Gig plan. 

This plan has an average download speed of 900 Mbps, which is great for heavier internet browser tasks or critical video calls that affect your business operations. Our 1Gig plan is also great for households with lots of smart devices and serious gamers who need a superfast broadband connection. 

Over half of the homes in the UK have access to full fibre broadband, which gives you fast connection speeds and lets you use several devices simultaneously.

Things you can do to increase home broadband speed

Ogi full fibre broadband plans have incredible speeds, so you shouldn’t encounter many internet speed issues when you’re with us. 

That being said, if you’re working remotely and your home broadband speed is slower than normal, here are some things you can do to help. 

1. Close background programs and apps

Additional applications and programs can keep running in the background of your mobile devices. You may not be using the applications themselves, but if they’re running, they’ll be using up bandwidth.

Try closing any mobile applications or computer programs that you don’t need. This can increase your broadband speed and help your device run better overall. 

If you’re using your phone, go to your applications folder and close any apps you’re not currently using. If you’ve got any tabs open in your phone or PC’s internet browser, close these as well. 

Shut down any additional background applications through your computer settings. You can also do this through your Windows Task Manager or Mac Activity Monitor, where you can see all programs your device is running. 

2. Disconnect additional devices

Extra devices using up your internet bandwidth can slow your home broadband speed right down. If you live in a household with several members or own multiple devices, you might be using more bandwidth than you think. 

Working from home generally involves connecting your laptop and phone to the internet, but if they’re any other devices using up your bandwidth, try disconnecting them and see if it increases your internet speed. 

If you live in a household with several members or own multiple devices, you might be using more bandwidth than you think.

3. Move your router to a new location

Your router’s location can have a great impact on your internet connection. Obstructions, like furniture pieces and doors can block Wifi signals, leading to a slower internet connection. 

You can make the most of your internet connection by keeping your router in a central area inside your home. Avoid placing your router inside cabinets or in room corners, but try to find a place that’s high up and clear from any blockages. 

If possible, place your router near your work-from-home devices, or the ones that you use most often. 

4. Update your router

If you have an older router, you should consider upgrading it. Older routers can become damaged over time, so they work less effectively. 

Poorer signals from older routers can struggle to keep up with modern internet demands. It’s recommended that you switch to a new router every three to four years, so if yours is older than this, it may be time for an upgrade. 

5. Switch to a new internet provider

If you’re noticing serious problems with your internet connection, switching to a new internet provider can help improve your home broadband speed. 

At Ogi, our internet plans are designed to deliver superfast, reliable, full fibre broadband to homes across Wales. Use our postcode checker to see if we’re in your area, or check out our home broadband plans to see which one is right for you. 

Switching to a new internet provider can help improve your home broadband speed. At Ogi, our internet plans are designed to deliver superfast, reliable, full fibre broadband to homes across Wales.

Here to Help

We are Ogi: Wales’s leading alternative network provider giving local families and businesses reliable and ultrafast services.

If you’d like to learn more about our services and what we do, get in touch with our business sales team on 029 2002 0535 or email wholesale@ogi.wales

Discover more about speeding up your internet with this post, or for more tips and industry insights, check out our regularly updated blog pages

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