“How fast do I need the internet to be on my construction site?” Never has such a simple question had such a complex network of answers. Given the way we are all using the internet these days, some simple answers below relating to the types of normal usage and unless specified, relate to download AND upload so you can better understand your construction site internet speeds. If you are onsite now and want to check your current speeds – click here then press GO on the Speedtest.
- Email: Well, emails queue up and send in their own time and so unless you are sending large files and need them to arrive urgently
- 50Kbps (0.05Mbps) minimum bandwidth
- Browsing: Most websites are well optimised to ensure file sizes are as small as they can be, so if you are just browsing basic pages and maybe a bit of online buying
- 500Kbps (0.5Mbps)
- Zoom call (individual): You could do a one to one call on zoom with
- 600Kbps (0.6Mbps)
- Zoom call (group): Although zoom calls are mostly with more than one person so the recommended minimum is
- 1Mbps (2.5Mbps for HD quality)
- Teams call (individual): It’s pretty smart software and so it will resize your quality of images to fit your bandwidth and so you can go pretty low
- 600Kbps (0.6Mbps)
- Streaming YouTube: Not that you would be doing much of this onsite of course…
- 2Mbps (8Mbps for HD)
- Streaming Netflix: Or this
- 2Mbps (10Mbps UHD)
- Uploading to file server: It depends on how urgent you need the file to get over but lets say you aren’t in a rush, then the bare minimum is all you need
- 500Kbps (0.5Mbps)
- Connection to VPN: Sadly there are quite a few variables to throw in here so we will make this basic, you should factor in at least
- 2Mbps per concurrent user (ie, 5 concurrent users requires minimum 10Mbps)
If you’ve got a site or compound with 20 people on it who will be working on multiple devices at the same time then you need to consider all of these activities and plan for a worst case scenario. In general, download speeds are usually superior to upload speeds when using temporary connectivity and this is where the bottleneck can happen.
We’d obviously suggest you are unlikely to have 20 people onsite who are all streaming Netflix (else you are probably in the wrong business!) but you might just have all 20 on a Teams call at the same time from their own devices. For comfort, this would need an upload capacity of 50Mbps. Realistically there is headroom as the chances of all 20 being on the call from their own devices at the same time is minimal – also they don’t all have to be operating at HD quality, so the balance there would be a 30Mbps upload speed minimum would be a viable expectation of a decent operating bandwidth.
If you’re interested in a neat. trick, then discover how Cat numbers can help you determine whether your site WiFi can be improved.
How to get reliable construction site WiFi
If you’re in the construction business you may be interested in reading our tips on how to get reliable construction site WiFi.
Here at Fli-Fi we specialise in construction WiFi. Our industry specific case studies demonstrate our experience on mission critical projects. We’d be delighted to hear from you if you need temporary connectivity or if your current service just isn’t up to the job and you need to improve your construction site internet speeds.
Follow us or keep an eye out for more top tips and WiFi help from the experts.
