Bandwidth Calculator

Event Bandwidth Calculator

Technology can be confusing. This has led it to being an often under-strategized element of event planning. To better understand some of event technology, let’s start with the basics of bandwidth. Bandwidth is the speed at which your data travels to and from the Internet. To understand bandwidth, it can be helpful to visualize data as water flowing through a tube.

A larger tube means that a greater amount of data can flow through it per second. There are a number of factors that can affect the size of that bandwidth tube. If the tube gets too constricted, you experience slow Internet. Many factors contribute to that constriction. If there are more people, more devices, or devices utilizing bandwidth-intensive features like streaming, video calling, or downloading, the bandwidth tube must be larger to avoid frustrating bottlenecks.

When referring to Internet connection speed (or bandwidth), we’re actually referring to two metrics: download speed and upload speed.

Download speed determines how fast data from the Internet can flow into a user’s device (for example, streaming when watching a video on Netflix).

Upload speed determines how quickly you can send data to the Internet for others to view. Upload speed is especially important for people looking to broadcast content (for example, uploading a file or broadcasting a live video to Ustream).

Event bandwidth speeds are usually measured in megabits per second (Mbps), commonly called “Megs.” Internet speeds are typically listed as download x upload. So 10x10 Mbps means 10 Mbps download and 10 Mbps upload.

Interney Speed Test

As a video producer, your bandwidth upload speed requirement is dictated by the quality of your live video stream.

Display Resolution

Display resolution is commonly expressed as width x height in pixels, or more accurately, lines. A High Definition (HD) video typically has a display resolution of 1280 x 720, referred to as 720p.


Frame Rate

Frame rate refers to how many still images make up one second of video. Almost all online video is encoded at 30 frames per second (fps). However, sports and video game streams are often encoded at 60 fps so viewers can catch the split-second action. Video at 60 fps is approximately twice the size of 30 fps video.



We consulted Hulu, Netflix, Ustream and Vudu to compile upload bandwidth recommendations for professionally streaming live video.

  Bandwidth Calculator for Video Broadcasting

Upload Bandwidth
(after compression)
Quality Display Resolution
(width x height in pixels)
Shorthand Frame Rate
1-2 Mbps Standard Definition (SD) 640 x 480 480p 15-30 fps
2-4 Mbps High Definition (HD or HD Ready) 1280 x 720 720p 30-60 fps
5-9 Mbps Full High Definition (FHD or HDX™) 1920 x 1080 1080p 30-60 fps
10-25 Mbps Ultra High Definition (4K or UHD) 3840 x 2160 2160p 30-60 fps
Upload Bandwidth
(after compression)
1-2 Mbps
Quality Standard Definition (SD)
Display Resolution
(width x height in pixels)
640 x 480
Shorthand 480p
Frame Rate 15-30 fps
Upload Bandwidth
(after compression)
2-4 Mbps
Quality High Definition (HD or HD Ready)
Display Resolution
(width x height in pixels)
1280 x 720
Shorthand 720p
Frame Rate 30-60 fps
Upload Bandwidth
(after compression)
5-9 Mbps
Quality Full High Definition (FHD or HDX™)
Display Resolution
(width x height in pixels)
1920 x 1080
Shorthand 1080p
Frame Rate 30-60 fps
Upload Bandwidth
(after compression)
10-25 Mbps
Quality Ultra High Definition (4K or UHD)
Display Resolution
(width x height in pixels)
3840 x 2160
Shorthand 2160p
Frame Rate 30-60 fps

To determine your overall Internet bandwidth requirements, you should take into account the needs of various groups of users including your AV vendor, video production team, registration vendor, exhibitors, attendees, staff, and press – each of these groups may have drastically different requirements. For an event only requiring a WiFi network for attendee use, we developed the bandwidth calculation table below as a guide to help customers estimate their specific bandwidth requirements.


  Bandwidth Calculator for Attendee WiFi

Usage Applications Bandwidth Requirements
100 WiFi Devices 500 WiFi Devices 1000 WiFi Devices
Light Email, credit card processing, general web surfing 10 Mbps 50 Mbps 100 Mbps
Medium Social media, some web demos 15 Mbps 75 Mbps 150 Mbps
Heavy Video, live polling, online software training, labs 25 Mbps 125 Mbps 250 Mbps
Usage: Light
Applications
Email, credit card processing, general web surfing
Bandwidth Requirements
100 WiFi Devices 10 Mbps
500 WiFi Devices 50 Mbps
1000 WiFi Devices 100 Mbps

Usage: Medium
Applications
Social media, some web demos
Bandwidth Requirements
100 WiFi Devices 15 Mbps
500 WiFi Devices 75 Mbps
1000 WiFi Devices 150 Mbps

Usage: Heavy
Applications
Video, live polling, online software training, labs
Bandwidth Requirements
100 WiFi Devices 25 Mbps
500 WiFi Devices 125 Mbps
1000 WiFi Devices 250 Mbps

Whether you need your event WiFi to successfully broadcast live streaming video or provide connection for 1,000+ attendees, Trade Show Internet offers event bandwidth solutions for every application and budget. As your bandwidth provider, we will guide you through each bandwidth option, taking into account speed, reliability, and cost to determine the best short-term bandwidth solution that will fit your needs.