The Importance of Fast Broadband in Your Home for TV

Jonathan Victoria • 17 Jul 2023

Streaming is most certainly becoming the new norm.

Sky released its newest service, Sky Stream, earlier this year. And on top of the already existing Sky Glass, it is clear to see that their priorities will be on streaming-based TV services going forward.

BT have followed suit, with the new BT TV box pro needing BT broadband to be able to function.

With these TV providers looking to transition from the old aerial satellite television to streaming, having a good stable broadband connection is becoming more and more important in every household.

Let’s take a further look into that as we discover exactly why companies like Sky and BT are turning to streaming and away from traditional satellite dishes.

Has streaming replaced broadcast TV?

Streaming has certainly become the new favourite way for consuming content. The ease of watching what you want when you want from a wide range of streaming platforms provides a huge advantage over live TV.

Streaming refers to on-demand viewing. Services like Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon Prime Video offer a wide range of TV shows and movies at the click of a button.

But what we’re looking at is the future of live TV, so we need to be looking at live streaming. 

Live streaming has been around for some time now. However, live streaming has mainly been associated with those who play video games or show off some form of content to their viewers.

This is very similar to live TV, in that viewers are sitting down and watching content as it is happening. It is scheduled, albeit to the streamer's schedule, and it has a run time, again to the streamer's timings. That’s the difference between live streaming and regular streaming.

Providers like Sky and BT are moving their services to become more streaming-based, which may mean the end of satellite TV is coming soon.

This doesn’t mean that live TV is disappearing, though. It just means that satellite dishes and the connection cables will be no more. Instead, everything will be run over broadband.

The importance of good broadband for live streaming

With providers turning to streaming-based services, broadband is going to be playing an even bigger part in every household now.

Streaming requires a good connection with speeds that meet or ideally exceed the minimum requirements to be able to load the content and play in the best definition possible. 

The thing to remember is that your TV isn’t the only thing that will be using the wifi in the house. Any personal devices you own like your phone, any laptops or computers, or video game consoles, will be connected to the router and are using some of the bandwidth, slowing down the connection. 

You also must remember that the connection can vary from room to room in your house. The further a room is from the router, the weaker the connection will be.

The best option for anyone who has this situation is to use extenders. They can be plugged in at outlets in different rooms, and provided they are still close enough to the router to provide a strong connection, it will, as the name suggests, extend the connection to those rooms that can’t pick up the router's signal as well.

All of that together means that if you are looking to upgrade now to one of the streaming-based TV packages from any provider, you should also want to look at upgrading your broadband as well.

What broadband speed do I need for streaming?

Each service is different for the minimum speeds needed to be able to stream their content, but generally speaking, 20-25 Mbps download speeds will be strong enough to cover Ultra HD or 4K streaming.

This will be the same with live streaming, but you should look to get a stronger, more stable connection. If possible, you’ll want to choose a package with average bandwidth speeds well above those minimums. 

It is also recommended that you run a wired connection from your broadband router to the streaming device so you can have the best speeds possible.

Is it better to stream with ethernet or wifi?

Ethernet cables help provide a more steady and reliable connection, as the cables run from the router directly to the intended device.

This way, there is no interruption from any other electrical devices or physical objects that can block the signal, which is the downside of streaming purely off of wifi.

For any personal devices, an ethernet cable isn’t needed. In fact, it's not even possible with things like your phone or a tablet.

But with your TV, it is recommended that anyone moving onto streaming-based services should look to run an ethernet cable between the router and the device.

The uninterrupted connection will provide you with the best speeds possible directly from the router, giving you the best picture quality and ensuring a reliable connection at all times.

Which providers have broadband and TV packages?

With Sky and BT being two of the main providers in the UK and with both looking to transition to streaming-based TV, they have started offering more packages that include their streaming devices as well as the recommended broadband together.

BT is known as the nation's most reliable broadband service and offers a good TV service, including BT Sport which holds exclusive rights to sports such as the UFC, WWE, and European club football.

Sky is the nation's favourite TV service, with an incredible amount of content on offer with every package. Plus, they have a fantastic broadband service that partners well with their new TV streaming services.

Other companies that excel in both TV and broadband are Virgin Media, TalkTalk, and NOW.

Be sure to check out the best broadband deals currently available online or call us to speak with someone who can help you find the right package for you.