Internet

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Is there internet?

 

Yes. ALL our stays must have internet above 6Mbps to be eligible for listing.  Many have even higher bandwidth available.

 

Our Stays have access to a free, independent internet speed testing facility from SpeedSmart.  The speeds displayed on our sites are average real-life speeds experienced at the Stay.

This is sufficient to meet the minimum requirements for video calls for many of the major technologies today.

 

No Internet?

When the internet isn't working it usually comes down to a few items.

  1. Obviously, accidents occur and power goes out sometimes in the more remote locations, but these are the exception rather than the rule.
  2. The bigger issue is usually around congestion of the line which prevents full speed from being achieved for everyone sharing the line at that point in time.
    1. Congestion can occur at the Stay, the town, the local provider or even on the country backbone.
    2. Congestion usually occurs on domestic internet plans when children come home from school, or everyone starts watching streaming movies.  Luckily, these times are often outside the usual digital nomad work periods.

Keep an eye out for our upcoming internet speed test results so you can compare Stays.

 

So, what speed do you need?

  1. Video Calling

Many of us need internet for video calls but what are the speeds needed for a good call?

  • Zoom:

Zoom offer video calling from 600 kbps.

To get full 1080p HD video you'll need 3.8Mbps(up) /3.0Mbps (down).  So its not actually that high.  You can read more about Zoom speeds here:

https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362023-System-requirements-for-Windows-macOS-and-Linux

 

  • Skype

Skype have similar minimum speed requirements:

Video calls start from a lower speed: 128kbps

Group videos of 7 or more people need a higher speed: 4Mbps

More about Skype speeds here: https://support.skype.com/en/faq/FA1417/how-much-bandwidth-does-skype-need

 

  • Google Hangouts

Google Hangouts needs a slightly higher bandwidth: Around 3.2 Mbps

https://support.google.com/a/answer/1279090?hl=en#zippy=%2Cstep-review-bandwidth-requirements

 

Updated:

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