But what does download speed mean?
When you connect to the internet, the download speed is the speed at which data (text, graphics, programmes, etc.) is transferred from another computer (i.e. the internet) to your home PC.Download speed is measured in megabits/second, commonly written as Mb or Mbps (as in 2Mb, or 2Mbps).
What's a megabit?
People often get confused between megabits (Mb) and megabytes (MB). In summary, there are 8 bits in a byte, so, if your download speed is 2 megabits per second, then that's the same as 0.25 megabytes per second.It's an important distinction, because file sizes are generally measured in megabytes. So, you can stop wondering why your 2MB photo doesn't download in one second.
Broadband download speed - not what it seems
A really important point to note is that you won't always get quite the speed you expect. The actual download speed you will achieve is dependent on a number of factors, not least the distance you live from a telephone exchange (for an ADSL connection).Broadband speeds, for this reason, are generally quoted as "up to". Really helpful ISPs will tell you during the sign-up process what maximum speed you are likely to get.
People living in big urban areas (in particular, London) are likely to have access to faster download speeds that people living out in the sticks.
Upload speeds are generally much slower.
