Maximum internet speeds on Fiber

Understanding how fast your devices can go is important - and varies by each individual connected tech device you're using.

First things first: you can get the fastest possible internet speeds with a wired ethernet connection. But the reality is that most of the time, you'll likely be connected to the internet wirelessly (otherwise known as being connected to a Wi-Fi network).

When you're connected to Wi-Fi, your speeds depend on a variety of factors, including the fiber equipment you have, the internet plan you're on, the distance you are from your router and the Wi-Fi standard of your connected device.

The following described the approximate download speeds you're likely to get on a variety of Wi-Fi devices under optimal conditions, assuming you're on our 1 Gig plan or higher.

Expected Wi-Fi speeds per Wi-Fi standard

Here's a general idea of Wi-Fi speeds:

Wi-Fi 4: Up to 200 Mbps
Wi-Fi 5: Up to 500 Mbps
Wi-Fi 6: Up to 800 Mbps

Note: These speeds would come from line of sight to the router, without interference and with a compatible Wi-Fi 6 device.

The 1Gbps fiber optic internet service provided by IdeaTek is capable of delivering that full 1Gbps speed over an Ethernet cable connection. However, the practical maximum speed of a Wi-Fi network, even using the latest Wi-Fi 6 standard, is lower than that. Typical real-world Wi-Fi speeds top out around 500-800 Mbps, well short of the 1Gbps fiber connection.

This speed difference is due to a few key factors:

Wireless signal interference and attenuation: Wi-Fi signals can be disrupted by walls, furniture, and other objects in the environment, leading to signal loss and reduced bandwidth.
Shared wireless medium: All devices connected to the same Wi-Fi network share the available wireless bandwidth, whereas Ethernet has a dedicated connection.
Overhead and protocol inefficiencies: The Wi-Fi protocol itself has more overhead compared to wired Ethernet, reducing the effective throughput.

To get the maximum performance from a 1Gbps fiber connection, it's recommended to use a direct Ethernet connection rather than Wi-Fi, especially for activities that require high bandwidth like 4K video streaming, large file transfers, or online gaming. The Ethernet connection will provide more consistent and faster speeds compared to the Wi-Fi interface.

Device Guide

As we noted above, your Wi-Fi speeds can vary by the type of device you're using.

Think of it this way: While the speed limit on the highway (your internet plan + router's Wi-Fi standard) may be 70 MPH, if your car (your device) can only go 50 MPH, you won't be able to reach maximum speed.