| What you run | Typical use | Pressure point |
|---|---|---|
| Email, web, Microsoft 365 / Google | 2–3 Mbps per person | Light |
| Video calls | 3–4 Mbps up and down each | Upload, latency |
| VoIP phones | About 0.1 Mbps per call | Reliability, not speed |
| AI chat tools | Very light (mostly text) | None |
| AI meeting, voice and video tools | Similar to video calls | Upload |
| Self-hosted AI models | Large model downloads; serving remote users needs upload | Download, server hardware |
| Cloud cameras | 2–4 Mbps upload each at 1080p, 8–16 at 4K, all day | Upload |
| Cloud backup | GB × 8,000 ÷ seconds (500 GB in 8 h ≈ 140 Mbps) | Upload |
| VPN for remote staff | 3–10 Mbps per active user | Office upload, firewall speed |
| On-site servers | Varies | Static IP, upload, uptime |
SD-WAN: who needs it
Multiple locations, or a busy phone system on two internet lines. A single small office usually just needs a dual-WAN router with failover.
Dedicated fiber (DIA): who needs it
Larger teams, heavy uploads, customer-facing servers, or anyone who needs guaranteed speeds and a repair-time SLA.
Security needs the right box, not more speed
VPN and threat filtering run on your firewall. A small router can slow a gigabit line badly when those features are on, so check the rated VPN and threat-protection throughput.
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