With the onset of the Covid pandemic and associated lockdowns, many Australians found themselves being forced to work from home for the first time in their lives.
Video conferencing and online collaboration whilst working from home can increase bandwidth and data usage and put extra pressure on your home internet connection. There is nothing worse than your video and audio feed cutting out during an important online presentation. A stress-free working from home experience requires a fast and reliable internet connection to accommodate this increase in data and bandwidth.
Video conferencing platforms like Zoom and Teams require a connection speed of less than 5Mbps which isn’t that fast really but our recommendation is to have a decent buffer for peak times when the network slows down due to congestion. A good rule of thumb is if you can stream HD in Netflix without any problems then you shouldn’t have any issues using video conferencing.
For people working from home alone we recommend a minimum connection speed of 25Mbps. In theory you could get away with a 12Mbps plan but it doesn’t leave much of a buffer. You could always try 12Mbps and upgrade later if you experience problems.
If you have multiple people working from home and have kids that need to stream video and take online classes then we recommend at least a 50Mbps internet connection speed.
The table below is a summary of our recommendations:
| Situation | Recommended Minimum Speed |
|---|---|
| 1 person working from home | 25Mbps |
| 2 people working from home + kids online schooling | 50Mbps |
What about data usage?
Working from home not only requires a fast internet connection but it will also increase your monthly data use. You will need to check the data quota of your current plan and ensure that you don’t exceed your limit.
The table below is a summary of our recommendations. If you stream a lot of video content you will need to add additional data to the figures below.
| Situation | Recommended Data Allowance |
|---|---|
| 1 person working from home | 100GB |
| 2 people working from home + kids online schooling | 250GB |
Unhappy with your internet speed?
Our broadband plan finder can help you find a new fast internet plan that will improve your working from home experience. Check it out here.
We’ve also discussed in detail the Best NBN plans for working from home so check it out here.
Further Reading
This article is the part of our ultimate guide to NBN, wireless and broadband internet in Australia. Other articles in this series are:
- The ultimate guide to NBN, wireless and broadband internet in Australia
- Types of Internet and broadband in Australia
- What are the different types of NBN internet connections?
- How to choose a broadband internet plan
- How do I connect to the NBN?
- How to read and compare NBN plans?
- What internet speed do I need to watch Netflix or Stan?
