FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – April 8, 2016 – Moncks Corner, SC - Springtime is the perfect time of year to check in with your utility providers, particularly your Internet provider to see if you’re getting the best service for the best deal.
Millions who signed up for long-term broadband deals years ago still risk whopping fines for using the Internet too much. Internet usage has soared in the past 18 months, but those with limits on data can still face stiff penalties. And in some cases, the cap can be a meager sum — just 10GB, which is only enough to watch two films and do a bit of browsing on the internet.
The share of Americans who own a tablet computer, such as an iPad, has risen tenfold since 2010. Today, 45% of U.S. adults own a tablet. (Pew, Oct 2015) And more than half have downloaded one or more apps that stream TV and movies, such as Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime.
If you can’t seem to get your brain around how much speed your current provider offers, how much you’re paying for it, or how much speed you really need, it’s time to take a quick look at your Internet usage as a household.
“Understanding your usage is crucial in deciding which Internet provider will work best for you, within your budget,” explains Will Helmly, President and COO of Home Telecom. “We recently created an online tool to assess what your Internet speed usage is and determine how much speed you need”
“Sometimes it might actually make sense to go for a less expensive option which will suit your needs, rather than an expensive one that you won’t be using as much. Basically, just because super fast speeds are available, it doesn't mean that you should necessarily pay for them if you use the Internet infrequently.”
Here are the speeds recommended by Home Telecom based on internet usage: [CLICK HERE to use the online calculator]
- Light users: If you don’t use the internet very often, maybe just a few times a week to check emails and surf the web, there's little point in paying for high-speed downloads. There are packages available at 10Mbps, which are cost-effective starter packages and should be suited for your needs as a household. Besides, if you do feel a little held back, you can always upgrade to a faster connection at a later date.
- Medium users: If you find yourself on the internet each day of the week, maybe scrolling through your Facebook feed, checking emails, watching videos and streaming a movie or two, you’re likely to be in the medium usage bracket of users. Download speeds should be fairly important to you, while upload speeds might not make much difference. If you’re in this bracket, you should look for a service of around 50Mbps to keep you going each month.
- Heavy users: For serial internet users with a home based business or more than one user per household who spends hours and hours watching animal videos on YouTube, downloading movies and music regularly, streaming hours of TV shows and playing online games all night, you’ll be safely considered a high-usage customer. You should definitely put speed as a priority and consider looking at your provider’s top tier speeds. The generally accepted speed for you should be a minimum of 100 Mbps. However, if you’re looking for serious speed, choose the provider that offers the fastest speed available anywhere: 1 Gbps. You should also consider upload speeds and whether your provider has usage restrictions where they will throttle your service to a lower speed or charge you more if you reach their data usage cap.*
*Home Telecom does not have data caps and all Velocity fiber customers have download and upload access up to 1 Gbps.
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ABOUT HOME TELECOM
Home Telecom, an independent telecommunications company based in Moncks Corner, South Carolina, offers high-speed Internet, voice, video, wireless Internet data access, data security solutions, and specialized bundles for residential, businesses and home offices. As an integrated communications provider utilizing multiple technologies, most notably fiber-to-the-premises, Home Telecom serves a large portion of the South Carolina Low country, including Berkeley, Charleston, and Dorchester Counties. To learn more, visit HOMESC.COM
CONTACT: Gina Shuler . (843) 761-9178 . mailto:gina.shuler@hometelcom.com