A download speed of 50Mbps allows yous to stream ultra-HD video on 2 devices at the same time, or download a HD movie in eleven minutes.

If yous're using a broadband cyberspace connection with download speeds of 50Mbps, you can comfortably stream ultra-HD quality video on up to 2 devices at the aforementioned time. Alternatively, you tin can download an entire music anthology in around xiv seconds or a HD-quality movie in almost xi minutes (increasing to 53 minutes if y'all're downloading a picture show in 4K ultra-HD quality).

The most widely available 50Mbps plans are from BT and Heaven. Y'all can also go Virgin Media's M50 broadband (with average speeds of 54Mbps) in around one-half of all UK homes.

In this commodity, nosotros'll await at what you tin practice on a 50Mbps connectedness, including for online video, music, gaming, video calls and general web browsing. Nosotros'll as well look at download times on a 50Mbps connection and at how much you'll typically need to pay for 50Mbps broadband at dissimilar ISPs.

Contents

  • one How Fast Is 50Mbps?
    • i.1 Streaming & Other Activities
    • 1.2 Download Times
    • 1.iii Dwelling Network Considerations
  • 2 How Much Does 50Mbps Broadband Toll?
  • 3 Other Download Speeds
  • 4 More Information

How Fast Is 50Mbps?

A download speed of 50Mbps is a petty slower than the United kingdom'due south average habitation broadband service (63Mbps).

Although it'southward a little bit slower than average, you'll still exist able to practise virtually of the things y'all'd want to exercise online. For example, there wouldn't be whatsoever issues with mean solar day-to-day usage such as web browsing, video calling, watching videos online or playing multiplayer games.

In some cases, things may outset slowing downward if yous're using multiple devices at the same fourth dimension (e.g. yous wouldn't be able to stream ultra-HD video on multiple devices at the same time).

Streaming & Other Activities

If you're using a 50Mbps broadband connection, it volition support virtually things you'd like to do online. This includes browsing the web, making video calls, listening to music and watching video online.

In the post-obit table, nosotros've listed a number of online activities and the minimum speed required for each i. We've as well listed the number of devices you lot'd exist able to use at the same time when accessing these services through a 50Mbps connectedness.

For instance, watching online video in ultra-Hard disk drive (4K) quality would require a download speed of 25Mbps on each device. You can therefore watch on upwardly to 2 devices at the same time if you lot accept a 50Mbps connection.

Activity Required Download Speed Usable on 50Mbps Connectedness?
Web Browsing, Messaging & Email:
General web browsing 0.i-1Mbps ✔ Yep, on 50 devices
Social media, instant messaging & e-mail <0.1Mbps ✔ Yes, on 100+ devices
Voice & Video Calling:
Skype/WhatsApp call 0.1Mbps ✔ Yep, on 100+ devices
Skype/Zoom video call 0.five-0.8Mbps ✔ Aye, on 60 devices
Skype/Zoom video call (HD) 1.v-i.8Mbps ✔ Yeah, on 25 devices
Zoom group video call (Hd) 2.5-3Mbps ✔ Yes, on fifteen devices
Streaming Online Music & Radio:
Listening to online radio 0.2Mbps ✔ Yes, on 100+ devices
Streaming music (Spotify, Apple tree Music, etc) 0.4Mbps ✔ Yes, on 100+ devices
Streaming Online Video:
Watching YouTube videos (basic quality) 0.5Mbps ✔ Yes, on 100 devices
Watching YouTube videos (720p HD quality) 2.5Mbps ✔ Yes, on twenty devices
Watching YouTube videos (1080p Hard disk quality) 4Mbps ✔ Yes, on x devices
Watching iPlayer/Netflix (standard definition) 1.5Mbps ✔ Yes, on 30 devices
Watching iPlayer/Netflix (loftier definition) 5Mbps ✔ Yes, on ten devices
Watching iPlayer/Netflix (4K UHD) 25Mbps ✔ Yes, on two devices
Online Gaming:
Online Gaming (installed PC/panel game) 3Mbps ✔ Yes, on xv devices
Cloud Gaming (Stadia/PS Now/Xbox Cloud) 10Mbps ✔ Yeah, on 5 devices
Cloud Gaming (4K Stadia) 35Mbps ✔ Yes, on 1 device

For some activities like instant messaging and e-mail, there's no real limit to the number of devices y'all tin can use at the aforementioned time. In theory, things would still work on more than than 100 devices at the same time when using a 50Mbps broadband connectedness. In reality, still, yous might accomplish the limit of your abode wi-fi network, which can outset slowing down when you have lots of devices connected at the same time.

Download Times

With a download speed of 50Mbps, you can download an entire music anthology in about 14 seconds. It volition take 11 minutes to download a Hd-quality moving-picture show (1080p quality) and well-nigh 53 minutes to download an ultra-Hard disk quality film (4K quality).

The following table shows the expected download time for multiple dissimilar types of file on a 50Mbps connection:

Activity 50Mbps Download Fourth dimension
Downloading a music album: 14 seconds
Downloading a two 60 minutes movie: three minutes (SD quality)
eleven minutes (HD quality)
53 minutes (Ultra Hard disk quality)
Downloading a PC or panel game: 2 hours
Downloading a mobile application: five seconds
Downloading a high-quality photo: <1 second
Downloading a web folio or email: <one 2nd

Typical file sizes used for our calculations: 85MB for a music album, 1GB for a standard-definition picture show, 4GB for a full-HD quality picture show, 20GB for a 4K Ultra Hd quality film, 45GB for a PlayStation or Xbox panel game, 30MB for an iPhone or Android mobile awarding and 2MB for a loftier-quality photograph.

If you lot're calculating the download time for another file, information technology's important to remember that 50Mbps stands for 50 Megabits per second (where eight Megabits are equal to 1 MegaByte). For this reason, if you're downloading a 50MB (fifty MegaByte) file, information technology will take you 8 seconds to do this and not i 2nd.

Home Network Considerations

If your broadband connection has a 50Mbps download speed, this refers to the speed at your router or hub. This may be different from the actual speed on your individual devices.

If you're connecting to the internet over wi-fi, the download speed on individual devices may be slower than 50Mbps. This is oftentimes due to poor wi-fi or congestion from other networks. This will stop you from getting the full potential of your broadband service. For instance, you lot might experience buffering when watching videos online due to poor wi-fi, even if your broadband connection is able to back up information technology.

Where possible, you should use a wired Ethernet connection to get the fastest available speeds. If you're not able to do this, look at ways to improve the wi-fi indicate in your home. Getting a wi-fi repeater or a mesh wi-fi system such as BT Whole Dwelling Wi-Fi or Google Wi-Fi tin be a highly effective way of improving speeds on your home wi-fi network.

How Much Does 50Mbps Broadband Toll?

In the Uk, it's currently possible to get 50Mbps broadband with prices starting from £20/calendar month. All the same, not all of the services are likely to be available at your address, so you lot'll demand to check the availability of dissimilar services at your address.

The most widely available 50Mbps plans are from BT and Heaven. You can also get Virgin Media'southward M50 broadband (with average speeds of 54Mbps) in effectually half of all United kingdom homes.

The post-obit table shows 50Mbps broadband plans:

Service Average Speed Contract Length Upfront Toll Monthly Price

Hyperoptic
Fast (24 months)

 50Mbps download 24 month contract £0 £20/month

Sky Broadband
Heaven Superfast

 59Mbps download 18 month contract £0 £26/calendar month

BT
Fibre 1

 50Mbps download 24 month contract £0 £27.99/month
with £70 reward card

Virgin Media
M50 Fibre Broadband + Weekend Calls

 54Mbps download 18 month contract £35 £28/month

Other Download Speeds

The toll and availability of different home broadband services depends on the download speed you're able to become.

The post-obit tabular array shows how much you lot'd need to pay for a broadband service with different download speeds. It too shows the percentage availability amid UK households:

Download Speed Monthly Price Availability
10Mbps From £17.99/calendar month 98% of Uk households
36Mbps From £17.99/month 95% of United kingdom households
50Mbps From £20.00/month 95% of UK households
67Mbps From £23.00/calendar month 95% of UK households
100Mbps From £24.00/month 60% of UK households
150Mbps From £25.00/month 60% of UK households
200Mbps From £28.00/month threescore% of UK households
300Mbps From £32.00/month 60% of United kingdom households
500Mbps From £30.00/month 50% of United kingdom of great britain and northern ireland households
900Mbps From £35.00/month 20% of Great britain households

More Information

For more data, run across our in-depth guides on download speed and upload speed. You can also read our other home broadband guides, including our review of all the major Uk broadband internet providers.