Written by At Gnet Live we are often asked which plan will suit best for different customers. To answer this question you first need to think about the type of things you use or intend to use your internet connection for.
If you are unsure of your needs ask us and we can recommend a plan but you are always free to choose a plan with a small data allowance and upgrade later if you need to change plans. There is no fee to upgrade your plan.
Skype video and audio chat usage
Using Skype or other similar programs such as FaceTime to contact friends and family can be very cost effective compared to ringing on a traditional phone. All you need is a compatible device with a microphone and camera for video chatting.
Below we have taken the recommended connection speed and shown you how much data you would consume if both people in the call had a good connection. The bandwidth required by Skype depends on the type of calls you want to make. The table below provides the minimum download and upload speeds required, as well as the recommended speeds for best performance.
| Call Type | Minimum download / upload speed | Recommended download / upload speed | Data Used for 1 hour (at recommended level) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calling Audio only | 30kbps / 30kbps | 100kbps / 100kbps | 1.5MB/min = 90MB/hour |
| Video calling / Screen sharing; | 128kbps / 128kbps | 300kbps / 300kbps | 4.5MB/min = 270MB/hour |
| Video calling (high-quality) | 400kbps / 400kbps | 500kbps / 500kbps | 7.5MB/min = 450MB/hour |
| Video calling (HD) | 1.2Mbps / 1.2Mbps | 1.5Mbps / 1.5Mbps | 22.5MB/min = 1.35GB/hour |
| Group video (3 people) | 512kbps / 128kbps | 2Mbps / 512kbps | 19.2MB/min = 1.15GB/hour |
| Group video (5 people) | 2Mbps / 128kbps | 4Mbps / 512kbps | 34.5MB/min = 2.07GB/hour |
| Group video (7+ people) | 4Mbps / 128kbps | 8Mbps / 512kbps | 65.2MB/min = 3.91GB/hour |
iTunes
You can rent or purchase digital content through Apples iTunes store. They have a mixture of songs, podcasts, tv shows and movies. You have a choice in the quality you wish to download them at. Below is a comparison of different files and an estimate of the size of each
| iTunes Store Digital Content Type | Data usage |
|---|---|
| Song | 5 min song – 10.3 MB at 256 kbps bitrate |
| TV Show | 334 MB (SD) |
| TV Show | 939 MB (1080p HD) |
| Movie – SD quality | 1 GB per hour |
| Movie – 1080p HD quality | 2.5 GB per hour |
Netflix
This service recently launched in Australia and through a subscription to their service you are able to watch TV Shows and Movies from their collection streamed for direct viewing on a compatible device. Depending on your settings and how often you use it Netflix may consume a large amount of your data allowance. This can be managed easily though by understanding how much it does use.
You can select the best plan to suit your intended use. Netflix allows you to adjust the data usage settings for your account. This allows you to choose the quality of video you will play (if that quality is available for the selected video). There are 4 data usage settings to choose from, which are SD, HD, Ultra HD and automatic (which adjusts automatically to deliver the best quality possible over your internet connection).
Below you can find information on the speed of the connection required to play their different services and also how much data those different services will consume.
| Netflix Service | Speed Required to play | Data per hour |
|---|---|---|
| Required broadband connection speed | 0.5 Mbps | |
| Recommended broadband connection speed | 1.5 Mbps | |
| SD quality | 3 Mbps | 0.7 GB per hour |
| HD quality | 5 Mbps | 3 GB per hour |
| Ultra HD quality | 25 Mbps | 7 GB per hour |
We hope that this post has helped you better understand your data usage. Using this information may help guide you when considering which plan will best match your needs and budget.