Speed Limit vs. Data Limit: What's the difference?

Speed Limit

The term "Speed Limit" refers to the speed capacity at which a customer's chosen internet plan can load content while browsing online or streaming. Think of this as a speed limit for a highway; a max limit is allowed to keep traffic moving smoothly and help avoid traffic jams and congestion.

So, for example, if the customer has an internet plan of 100 Mbps, there are 5 people in the home, and 20 devices (security cameras, TVs, tablets, cell phones, smart home appliances, etc.) all connected to the Wi-Fi network at 7:00 pm, they might experience some buffering. This is due to the network trying to keep the same internet speed for all connected devices, which causes a traffic jam and a slowdown.

This is what is referred to as Download Speed Limit, meaning the network speed is spread very thin across all those devices. The Speed Limit doesn't mean the internet will turn off or it can't continue to be used, but rather it will just slow down until some juice is freed up.

Internet Data Usage

Data is the amount of content a user can download/upload from the internet during one billing cycle. Think of this as the maximum capacity of cars allowed on a highway. Remember that having a fast internet speed does not automatically correlate to more data usage.

Data capacity tends to be a more significant factor for serious gamers or those who work from home since they use a large amount of data on a daily basis. An exception to this would be streaming services because they automatically adapt the user's speed. For example, if a user is streaming in 4K they would use more data.

BTC Broadband offers unlimited data for internet plans 60 Mbps and above. Without unlimited data there is always a possibility to max out the monthly data limit. When this happens, additional fees will apply for the extra data used.