Internet Speed Details?

[Tyler Neibarger]

Hello,

I have been researching internet speeds lately, and I am direly confused. I can figure out what the difference is between the speeds of the ISP and the speed of the router/modem.

To give a little more information. Say my ISP provides me 50 Mbps, and my router can provide up to 300 Mbps. Now is this 50 Mbps my download speed or is that different? Why would that be different since they are telling me I am getting this speed?

And one last question is why are they making routers that can go 300 Mpbs or even 1 Gbps when the ISP can only provide 50 Mbps? These speeds aren't adding up.

Thank you in advance!
Am I asking this correctly, or do I need to rephrase this?

[BuddhaSkoota]

If you sign up for a 50Mb/s plan with your ISP, then that is your connection speed to the Internet (download speed). Top speeds are in most cases limited by the ISP's infrastructure.

Home network devices can be made to operate at higher connection speeds within the home network. Devices within the home do not have to overcome large distances via wired or wireless, making high speed connections relatively easy to accomplish. A higher speed within the home allows you to stream media efficiently between devices, or move large files from one computer to another. This is important since, now more than ever, people are using their devices for storing pictures, videos and other high capacity digital content that is shared between multiple devices.