One of the most popular spots at this year’s Consumer Electronics show in Las Vegas was the Connected Home Tech Zone, displaying an array of individual devices of all kinds connected in a network or grid within the home.While you might not be ready to hook up the fridge just yet, the trend toward the digital home is growing, as the number of electronic devices in consumers’ hands continues to explode.In today’s world, it’s not unusual to find a family at home together, with junior on a game console, his sister on her iPad using Skype, Mom on a desktop computer uploading videos to YouTube while a movie is being downloaded in the background, and Dad is watching apple TV, streaming a show over the internet.It sounds great, but for the various services to operate simultaneously, bandwidth is key. Recent statistics show that bandwidth usage on the internet has increased 40-50 percent annually since 2007, and network bandwidth on the entire internet in 2011 was 100 times what it was in 2002, with internet video alone using 400 times more bandwidth in 2011 than all internet traffic on US backbone networks in 2000.There are no signs of this growth slowing anytime soon.To support this trend, many internet service providers in North America are offering residential internet speeds of 20-30 MBps (Megabits per second). In Europe, it’s not unusual to find 60-100 MBps speeds.If you’re like many consumers, you may not be sure how much bandwidth you need for your home usage. It’s worth considering, so you can make an informed choice for the internet service that best meets your needs.In the online world, there are two basic types of services — bursting and fixed-rate services, and each operates differently in terms of how they use bandwidth.Bursting services include things like web-browsing, e-mail, text chat, and file downloading/uploading and cloud-based file synchronising services.These will consume as much bandwidth as is available between the systems in the communications loop. In a file downloading scenario, as in most internet communications, the bandwidth will be limited by any or all of these factors: the server and bandwidth capacity at the site providing the file; the speed of the computer requesting the file; and all of the network links between them.This is why some downloads/uploads operate at a slower rate than others, often caused by slow or congested servers and network links on the internet.Fixed rate services are usually multimedia-based and have specific minimum bandwidth requirements that are placing a greater demand on download and upload speeds alike. Some examples are:-Subscription or payment-based video streaming such as Apple TV and Netflix, which require 4-5 MBps for a standard definition video or 7-8 MBps for high definition.-YouTube, Hulu and Vimeo like services require 0.3 — 8 MBps depending on video quality.-Video conferencing applications such as Skype, Facetime or Netmeeting require 0.5 — 1.5 MBps depending on call quality. This is a bidirectional requirement (meaning the same bandwidth requirements apply to upstream and downstream speeds).-internet Phone (Voice over IP) requires 0.1 — 0.2 MBps, bidirectional.-Online Gaming requires 0.3 — 1 MBps, also bidirectional.Unless the network provider offers a guaranteed bit rate, these services are also impacted by slow or very distant network links, only in this case the issue will be much more obvious, as you may experience brief pausing of the content stream.The bidirectional requirement of these and other services is also causing a need for higher upload speeds for applications like interactive multimedia, and cloud-based services that enable global access to your documents, videos and high-megapixel photos, for personal use or to share with family and friends.The largest bandwidth challenge faced by a “connected” home is that all of these data rates are additive to each other, and the effect of using two or three of these services at the same time, on one or more devices can seriously impact the quality of all of the services as they fight for the required bandwidth.This can be further strained by “ghost” bandwidth consumption, the term used to describe background network usage that computers and devices typically use as they automatically check for and download software updates, or synchronise files with a cloud-based file system.Another type of undesirable “ghost” bandwidth consumption is caused by viruses and other computer malware that use infected computers’ resources in unpredictable ways, sometimes keeping in regular communication with remote systems to share information about what the user is doing, or receiving new instructions.There are a lot of options home and business users have when selecting the internet service level that will best suit their needs. For those who use the internet for browsing websites, corresponding by e-mail, occasionally downloading files or using a single line internet phone service, a 2 or 4 Mb connection is often enough to both meet their needs and save on monthly service charges.For the more active internet users who are regularly downloading files, partaking in video chat sessions and steaming videos, a 6 or 8 Mb connection would be more suitable. For the connected family that was described earlier, a connection of 10 Mb or greater would be best to satisfy the heavy demand they will place on their internet connection.The best bet for any user is to understand how their internet is being used so they can upgrade or downgrade their service levels to ensure it is capable of satisfying the demand without unnecessary frustration.Looking to the future, ISPs and network link providers will need to ensure they have the ability to meet the growing bandwidth needs of the average home. This will require staying current in emerging technologies, working closely with service partners, and being in a position to offer increasingly higher service levels.Tyler Bartel is a network engineer with Bermuda CableVision