A download speed of 900Mbps allows you to stream ultra-HD video on 36 devices at the same time, or download a HD movie in 36 seconds.
If you’re using a broadband internet connection with download speeds of 900Mbps, you can comfortably stream ultra-HD quality video on up to 36 devices at the same time. Alternatively, you can download an entire music album in around 1 second or a HD-quality movie in about 36 seconds (increasing to 3 minutes if you’re downloading a movie in 4K ultra-HD quality).
In the UK, you can get download speeds of 900Mbps on full fibre services such as those from BT, Hyperoptic, TalkTalk and Vodafone. You can also use Virgin Media's Gig1 Broadband for average speeds of 1,104Mbps using cable broadband technology.
In this article, we’ll look at what you can do on a 900Mbps connection, including for online video, music, gaming, video calls and general web browsing. We’ll also look at download times on a 900Mbps connection and at how much you’ll typically need to pay for 900Mbps broadband at different ISPs.
Contents
How Fast Is 900Mbps?
A 900Mbps broadband connection is faster than the UK’s average home broadband service which has a download speed of 63Mbps.
With a download speed of 900Mbps, you can do almost anything you’d like to do at the same time on the internet, on multiple devices at the same time. For instance, you can watch online video on 36 devices at the same time in ultra-HD (4K) quality. This increases to 180 devices at the same time if you’re watching in full HD (1080p) quality.
With a 900Mbps connection, you can also download files fairly quickly. For instance, a music album will download in around 1 second and a HD-quality movie will download in about 36 seconds. Browsing the internet and receiving emails should be near-instantaneous on a 900Mbps connection.
Streaming & Other Activities
If you’re using a 900Mbps broadband connection, it will support almost anything you’d like to do online. This includes browsing the web, making video calls, listening to music and watching video online on multiple devices at the same time.
In the following table, we’ve listed a number of online activities and the minimum speed required for each one. We’ve also listed the number of devices you’d be able to use at the same time when accessing these services through a 900Mbps connection.
For instance, watching online video in ultra-HD (4K) quality would require a download speed of 25Mbps on each device. You can therefore watch on up to 36 devices at the same time if you have a 900Mbps connection.
| Activity | Required Download Speed | Usable on 900Mbps Connection? |
|---|---|---|
| General web browsing | 0.1-1Mbps | ✔ Yes, on 100+ devices |
| Social media, instant messaging & e-mail | <0.1Mbps | ✔ Yes, on 100+ devices |
| Skype/WhatsApp phone call | 0.1Mbps | ✔ Yes, on 100+ devices |
| Skype/Zoom video call | 0.5-0.8Mbps | ✔ Yes, on 100+ devices |
| Skype/Zoom video call (HD) | 1.5-1.8Mbps | ✔ Yes, on 100+ devices |
| Zoom group video call (HD) | 2.5-3Mbps | ✔ Yes, on 100+ devices |
| Zoom group video call (HD) | 2.5-3Mbps | ✔ Yes, on 100+ devices |
| Listening to online radio | 0.2Mbps | ✔ Yes, on 100+ devices |
| Streaming music (Spotify, Apple Music, etc) | 0.4Mbps | ✔ Yes, on 100+ devices |
| Watching YouTube videos (basic quality) | 0.5Mbps | ✔ Yes, on 100+ devices |
| Watching YouTube videos (720p HD quality) | 2.5Mbps | ✔ Yes, on 100+ devices |
| Watching YouTube videos (1080p HD quality) | 4Mbps | ✔ Yes, on 100+ devices |
| Watching iPlayer/Netflix (standard definition) | 1.5Mbps | ✔ Yes, on 100+ devices |
| Watching iPlayer/Netflix (high definition) | 5Mbps | ✔ Yes, on 100+ devices |
| Watching iPlayer/Netflix (4K UHD) | 25Mbps | ✔ Yes, on 35 devices |
| Online Gaming (installed Xbox/PS4 game) | 3Mbps | ✔ Yes, on 100+ devices |
| Cloud Gaming (Stadia/PS Now/Xbox Cloud) | 10Mbps | ✔ Yes, on 90 devices |
| Cloud Gaming (4K Stadia) | 35Mbps | ✔ Yes, on 25 devices |
For some activities like general web browsing and online music, there's no real limit to the number of devices you can use at the same time. In theory, things would still work on more than 100 devices at the same time when using a 900Mbps broadband connection. In reality, however, you might reach the limit of your home wi-fi network, which can start slowing down when you have lots of devices connected at the same time.
Download Times
With a download speed of 900Mbps, you can download an entire music album in about 1 second. It will take 36 seconds to download a HD-quality film (1080p quality) and about 3 minutes to download an ultra-HD quality movie (4K quality).
The following table shows the expected download time for multiple different types of file on a 900Mbps connection:
| Activity | 900Mbps Download Time |
|---|---|
| Downloading a music album: | 1 second |
| Downloading a 2 hour movie: | 9 seconds (SD quality) 36 seconds (HD quality) 3 minutes (Ultra HD quality) |
| Downloading a PC or console game: | 7 minutes |
| Downloading a mobile application: | <1 second |
| Downloading a high-quality photo: | <1 second |
| Downloading a web page or email: | <1 second |
Typical file sizes used for our calculations: 85MB for a music album, 1GB for a standard-definition movie, 4GB for a full-HD quality movie, 20GB for a 4K Ultra HD quality movie, 45GB for a PlayStation or Xbox console game, 30MB for an iPhone or Android mobile application and 2MB for a high-quality photograph.
If you’re calculating the download time for another file, it’s important to remember that 900Mbps stands for 900 Megabits per second (where 8 Megabits are equal to one MegaByte). For this reason, if you’re downloading a 900MB (900 MegaByte) file, it will take you 8 seconds to do this and not one second.
Home Network Considerations
If your broadband connection has a 900Mbps 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 900Mbps. This is often 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 might experience buffering when watching videos online due to poor wi-fi, even if your broadband connection is able to support it.
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 signal in your home. Getting a wi-fi repeater or a mesh wi-fi system such as BT Whole Home Wi-Fi or Google Wi-Fi can be a highly effective way of improving speeds on your home wi-fi network.
How Much Does 900Mbps Broadband Cost?
In the UK, it’s currently possible to get 900Mbps broadband with prices starting from £27.50/month. However, not all of the services are likely to be available at your address, so you’ll need to check the availability of different services at your address.
In the UK, you can get download speeds of 900Mbps on full fibre services such as those from BT, Hyperoptic, TalkTalk and Vodafone. You can also use Virgin Media's Gig1 Broadband for average speeds of 1,104Mbps using cable broadband technology.
The following table shows 900Mbps broadband plans:
| Service | Average Speed | Contract Length | Upfront Price | Monthly Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Ultra Fibre Optic | 900Mbps download | 18 month contract | £0 | £27.50/month |
 Gigafast 900 | 900Mbps download | 24 month contract | £0 | £43/month |
 Hyperfast | 900Mbps download | 12 month contract | £29 | £45/month |
 Full Fibre 900 | 910Mbps download | 24 month contract | £9.99 | £59.99/month |
 Gig1 Fibre | 1104Mbps download | 18 month contract | £35 | £62/month |
Other Download Speeds
The cost and availability of different home broadband services depends on the download speed you’re able to get.
The following table shows how much you'd need to pay for a broadband service with different download speeds. It also shows the percentage availability amongst UK households:
| Download Speed | Monthly Price | Availability |
|---|---|---|
| 10Mbps | From £18.00/month | 98% of UK households |
| 36Mbps | From £17.99/month | 95% of UK households |
| 50Mbps | From £22.00/month | 95% of UK households |
| 67Mbps | From £24.00/month | 95% of UK households |
| 100Mbps | From £25.00/month | 60% of UK households |
| 150Mbps | From £29.00/month | 60% of UK households |
| 200Mbps | From £28.00/month | 60% of UK households |
| 300Mbps | From £47.00/month | 60% of UK households |
| 500Mbps | From £33.00/month | 50% of UK households |
| 900Mbps | From £27.50/month | 20% of UK households |
If you’re unable to get a 900Mbps connection where you live, there are lots of alternative providers offering average download speeds of 63-67Mbps. This is slower than a 900Mbps connection, but prices start from just £24/month and about 95% of UK homes are able to get this service:
| Service | Average Speed | Contract Length | Upfront Price | Monthly Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Superfast Fibre | 67Mbps download | 18 month contract | £0 | £24/month |
Superfast 2 | 63Mbps download | 24 month contract | £0 | £25/month |
Fibre 2 | 67Mbps download | 24 month contract | £9.99 | £29.99/month |
 EE Fibre Plus | 67Mbps download | 18 month contract | £0 | £30/month |
 Super Fibre | 63Mbps download | 12 month contract | £5 | £30/month |
 Superfast Fibre Plus | 63Mbps download | 18 month contract | £0 | £35.99/month |
More Information
For more information, see 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.
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