Broadband for remote work: What speed do you need for working from home?

Working from home offers greater flexibility, and has established itself as a regular practice in the last few years. But to do your job at home, you need an internet connection that you can trust to provide sufficient speed and reliability. 

This guide will cover what you need to consider when selecting the right speeds to support your home working requirements, from upload and download speeds — to coverage in every room.

What are the requirements for working from home?

More and more jobs can be done remotely these days, such as graphic design and development, logistics management, and even sales. At a minimum, anyone working from home needs a desk or a table, and a supportive chair for all-day comfort. 

The ideal home office setup for you will depend on what you do for a living and the complexities of your role. If you manage large data sheets or need to use several tabs at once, multiple monitors and a large desk are going to help you achieve this full view.

A wireless keyboard and mouse with wrist support is a good idea for anyone who spends much of their workday typing up reports, emails, or writing blogs. Your workplace should aid home working by providing you with all the equipment you need. 

The one essential thing every remote worker needs is a reliable and fast internet connection. Whether you need to access live databases, present via video call, or send large files, you’ll want to get your job done without broadband disruptions.

Fibre broadband is the best connection type to ensure your internet can support home working.

Check availability in your area

What broadband speed do I need to work from home?

The minimum speed for remote working will be different for everyone, depending on your job and the online activities required to complete your role. 

At the absolute minimum, a broadband speed of 25 Mbps should be able to support lighter tasks such as emails and working on a small report. 

However, more bandwidth is essential for uploading and downloading large files, video calls, and other demanding tasks, which could see 25 Mbps struggling to keep up.

Remote work applications and activities 

Take a look at how you use the internet throughout a regular workday at home to find out what speed will be the most suitable for you. 

Do you screen share a presentation over a Zoom video call? Do you send reports, images, and other large files through WeTransfer regularly? 

It’s important to consider upload and download speeds too, as not all providers offer symmetrical connections. 

Let’s use video calling as an example of how upload and download speeds differ:

• Upload - this speed controls how well you can see other people’s incoming video feeds. 

• Download - this speed controls how well your video is seen by others, as well as anything you might be screen sharing. 

Recommended upload and download speeds for common work applications:

Google Meet

• Type: Video and audio
• Recommended upload speed: 3.2 Mbps
• Recommended download speed: 3.2 Mbps

Zoom

• Type: Video and audio
• Recommended upload speed: 3 Mbps
• Recommended download speed: 25 Mbps

WeTransfer

• Type: File sharing
• Recommended upload speed: 5 Mbps
• Recommended download speed: 5 Mbps

Slack

• Type: Messaging
• Recommended upload speed: 1 Mbps
• Recommended download speed: 1 Mbps

Your exact requirements could be impacted by factors such as the number of call participants, video resolution, and file size — so take the above information as a general guideline.

You might also have other people in the house, who have their own devices connected online. Your speed will be spread across various activities simultaneously, and suddenly a speed of 25 Mbps isn’t enough anymore.

So how can you determine what speed is best for your remote job? The main concerns are the type of activities your job requires and whether there are people and devices in your household who will also need to use the internet while you are working.

Is 35 Mbps good for working from home?

If you live alone — or are the only person home during the day — and your job is mostly light online work, then 35 Mbps might work for you. This small package is fast enough to keep you connected to your team through video calls and share files with your colleagues throughout the work day.

Be aware that if you have other devices using your broadband connection, then this will reduce the speed your laptop or PC can use. So if you have a work computer and a work phone both eating into your bandwidth, you might experience some delays.

Additionally, if you have family members or friends who come home in the evenings, then 35 Mbps will be stretched across even more devices. So, while it could be enough for your workday, it might not be enough for everyone’s needs when work is over.

Is 150 Mbps good for working from home?

Speeds of 150 Gbps can cope with the demands of moderate online activities. If you’re working with large files, online databases, and videos, 150 Gbps could be the one for you. 

Even if there are two of you working from home at the same time, you should both be able to carry out your duties without causing disruptions to each other. 

Is 1 Gbps good for working from home?

Remote workers with high-internet work activities and other household members will benefit from the generous bandwidth provided by 1 Gbps speeds.

If you want to join a video call, but someone else is home from school or work and wants to stream a movie at the same time, this won’t be an issue at all. 1 Gbps can manage the requirements of several devices at once without annoying connection disruptions.

Our 1 Gbps package is ideal for households with heavy internet use. Need to send designs over fast? No problem — downloading and uploading large files is quick and painless. It can also handle back-to-back video calls without compromising on visual quality. 

Plus, our 1 Gbps speed is available with Premium WiFi to guarantee whole home coverage.

What kind of broadband coverage do I need for working from home?

Full fibre broadband offers the most reliable connection and fastest speeds for home working, with the top speeds always given over a wired connection. But this isn’t always possible if your access points are in an inconvenient place, such as by your front door — which probably wouldn’t be very practical to set up your workspace. 

A high-quality WiFi router should be equipped to give you the connection you need at your desk. Some homes experience bad coverage in certain areas due to layout, house size, and thick walls. WiFi extenders are offered by some providers to correct this issue — though the encryption on these devices poses potential security risks. 

Community Fibre’s Premium WiFi uses innovative Mesh WiFi technology to guarantee coverage in the rooms that matter most (12 rooms in total with up to five bedrooms across a maximum of three floors). So your home office will be fully covered with a fast and reliable connection.

Best internet provider for working from home

The best provider for your home will depend on availability in your area, so be sure to compare prices and speeds to find the best option for your needs.

London, Surrey and Sussex-based customers can benefit from Community Fibre’s reliable full fibre broadband at unbeatable prices. Check your postcode to check availability.