How fast does your internet connection speed need to be for teletherapy?
Internet speed (also referred to as “bandwidth”) is the speed of your internet connection. Bandwidth is how much data that can be received and sent between your device (computer) and the internet per second.
Your bandwidth is measured as “up” and “down” speed. Up (upload) speed is how much data you can send per second. Down (download) speed is how much data you can send per second.
The minimal amount of bandwidth you need is usually determined by the conferencing software that you use in for your teletherapy session.
For example, if you are using Zoom.us, here are their minimum requirements:
Recommended bandwidth for Meetings and Webinar Panelists:
For 1:1 video calling: 600kbps (up/down) for high quality video and 1.2 Mbps (up/down) for HD video
For group video calling: 600kbps/1.2Mbps (up/down) for high quality video. For gallery view: 1.5Mbps/1.5Mbps (up/down).
For screen sharing only (no video thumbnail): 50-75kbps
For screen sharing with video thumbnail: 50-150kbps
For audio VoiP: 60-80kbps
Recommended bandwidth for Webinar Attendees:For 1:1 video calling: 600kbps (down) for high quality video and 1.2 Mbps (down) for HD video
For screen sharing only (no video thumbnail): 50-75kbps (down)
For screen sharing with video thumbnail: 50-150kbps (down)
For audio VoiP: 60-80kbps (down)
Note 1: Mbps (megabits per second) is larger then kbps (kilobits per second). 1 Mbps is equal to 1000 kbps.
Note 2: You can usually find the conferencing service’s minimum requirements in their support, help or FAQ section of their website.
What does that actually mean? Look for their highest minimum requirements. In this case, the minimum requirement is 1.5Mbps up speed and 1.5Mbps down speed.
Next, use a free service like www.Fast.com or CloudFlare to test your internet speed.
When I performed the test, my results were 20 Mbps down and 8.1 Mbps up. This shows that my internet speed is more than the minimum required.
Note 3: Test your internet speed before each session because it will change based on time of day, how many other devices are accessing the internet, etc..
Use the comments below if you have any questions or if there is something you would like me to go more into details about.
