London, 7 October 2026. For immediate release. Issued by BroadbandSwitch.uk and distributed by EIN Presswire.
A family of four needs about 70 Mbps of download speed at its busiest: a film in 4K, two more screens streaming in HD, a video call and an online game, all at once. That is the estimate from RightSpeed, a free online calculator by Dr Alex J. Martin-Smith, founder of UK broadband comparison site BroadbandSwitch.uk.
RightSpeed asks eight questions about a home's busiest time online and takes about 45 seconds. The answer is two numbers, one for download and one for upload, plus a recommended speed band. For two people working from home, with video calls and heavy uploads, the upload number came out higher than the download.
It is free to use, with no sign-up, at rightspeed.co.uk
How much broadband speed does a home need?
It depends on how much is happening at once. BroadbandSwitch.uk ran six example homes through RightSpeed on 6 October 2026. These are the estimates for each home's busiest time, in megabits per second (Mbps), with a safety margin already built in (Martin-Smith, 2026):
- One person watching an HD stream: 11 Mbps down, 2 Mbps up
- A couple with one 4K stream, one HD stream and a video call: 52 down, 8 up
- A family of four with one 4K stream, two HD streams, a video call and a gamer: 70 down, 9 up
- Two people working from home, both on video calls, with heavy uploads and a security camera or two: 18 down, 31 up
- A full house of five or more, with 4K and HD streams, video calls, gaming, big downloads and security cameras: 144 down, 26 up
- The busiest home the questions allow, with every answer at the top setting: 217 down, 67 up
RightSpeed then recommends a speed band with room above the estimate. It put the first four homes in its lowest band, which runs up to 150 Mbps, and the last two in its 250 to 500 Mbps band.
"Nobody wants to become a broadband expert. They want the film to play and the work call to hold," said Dr Martin-Smith. "So RightSpeed asks what's going on in your house at eight o'clock on a weeknight and gives you two numbers to shop with. Sometimes they're lower than you expected and a cheaper package will do. Sometimes it's the upload that needs fixing. Better to know that before you sign a contract."
Why does upload speed matter?
The surprise is the pair working from home. They came out needing more upload than download: 31 Mbps against 18.
Download is what comes into a home, such as films and web pages. Upload is what goes out, such as the picture on a video call, a cloud backup or the footage from a security camera. Zoom (n.d.) recommends 3.8 Mbps of upload for a single video call in full HD. Two of those, plus heavy uploads and a camera or two, soon add up.
Many broadband packages offer less upload than download, so RightSpeed checks the two separately. When a home needs a lot of upload, the result says so and suggests a package with more of it, or full fibre (Martin-Smith, 2026).
Does a home need gigabit broadband?
RightSpeed's own guidance is that most households do not need gigabit broadband, which is 1,000 Mbps. It says a gigabit makes sense for very busy homes or small businesses with many devices, several 4K streams, heavy cloud use or frequent large transfers (Martin-Smith, 2026).
Even with every answer at the top setting, RightSpeed's estimate was 217 Mbps down and 67 up. Gigabit-capable broadband was available to 89% of UK homes in January 2026, according to Ofcom (2026), so most homes do have the option.
How does RightSpeed work?
The eight questions cover how many people are online at once, HD and 4K streams, video calls, gaming, big downloads, uploads and security cameras. Alongside the two numbers and the speed band, the result shows what is pushing them up.
The sums start from the figures that streaming and video call services publish. Netflix (n.d.) recommends 15 Mbps or higher for a 4K stream. RightSpeed allows 25 Mbps to leave room, then adds a safety margin on top.
Nothing personal is collected, and it all runs in the browser. The result is an estimate for planning, not a measurement of the speed a home is getting now.
What should a household do with its numbers?
A speed estimate means more next to real prices. BroadbandSwitch.uk compares deals from 30+ UK providers by postcode, and has a free speed test for checking what a line delivers today. A household can take its two numbers to broadbandswitch.uk/compare/ and see what fits. Availability and prices vary by postcode and by provider.
RightSpeed at a glance
- Cost
- free, with no sign-up
- Time
- eight questions, about 45 seconds
- Result
- estimated peak download and upload, with a recommended speed band
- Privacy
- runs in the browser and collects no personal data
- For
- UK homes and small businesses
- Author
- Dr Alex J. Martin-Smith
- Version
- 2.1.2, last updated 19 February 2026
About BroadbandSwitch.uk
BroadbandSwitch.uk is an independent UK broadband comparison and switching service that helps households and businesses check availability, compare full-fibre and gigabit options, and switch to a better deal. It publishes an independent, evidence-graded series of reports on the changing shape of UK connectivity.
Notes to editors
- Dr Alex J. Martin-Smith and Adrian James, Broadband Editor, are available for interview, including broadcast.
- Logos, headshots and fact sheets can be downloaded from the newsroom at broadbandswitch.uk/media/
- The six results come from RightSpeed's home questions as they stood on 6 October 2026. The family of four used the tool's three to four people answer. Video calls used its 1080p answers. The full house used two 4K streams, three or more HD streams, two video calls, two gamers, frequent big downloads, medium uploads and one or two cameras. Anything not mentioned was left at its lowest setting.
- The home questions stop at five or more people and three or more streams of each kind, so a larger household could need more than the top result shown here.
- The results are planning estimates. They are not measurements and they are not a survey of households.
- BroadbandSwitch.uk earns a commission when a customer chooses a provider through its comparison. It says this does not affect the prices shown.
- RightSpeed is independent of Netflix, Ofcom and Zoom, whose published figures are cited in this release.
