You just signed your lease and are ticking off your list of things to get sorted out before moving in. You eventually need to choose an Internet plan. To find the right speed, there are two things to consider: what you do online, and how many people share the connection.
- Internet speed, in a nutshell
- Look at your digital habits to help you choose
- Which speed is sufficient for someone living alone?
- Sharing the connection with a roommate without slowing down
- How the number of devices affects the connection
- Which plan best suits your profile?
Internet speed, in a nutshell
Internet speed is measured in megabits per second (Mbit/s) or gigabits per second (Gbit/s). This figure shows the amount of data that travels each second between your connection and the servers you use. The higher it is, the more smoothly your online activities run, especially when several people or devices share the network.
Download and upload: two speeds to tell apart
Your Internet connection works in two directions.
- Download speed is the flow of data coming to you: loading a web page, streaming a movie, receiving a file.
- Upload speed is the data you send out: your video calls, your shared files, your messages.
In most cases, when it comes to students, download speed is the most important. Upload speed is more important if you make lots of video calls or if you regularly share large files.
Mbit/s and Gbit/s: what do they mean?
One Gbit/s equals 1,000 Mbit/s. To give you an idea:
- Watching a movie in HD on a streaming platform takes about 5 to 8 Mbit/s per screen.
- A good-quality video call runs around 3 to 5 Mbit/s.
- Playing a multiplayer game online takes between 3 and 25 Mbit/s, depending on the game.
These figures add up as soon as several people use the connection at the same time.
Look at your digital habits to help you choose
Before choosing a speed, look at how you use the Internet every day. Are you the type to browse the web quietly and chat with friends? Or do you spend your evenings streaming and your days on video calls?
Browsing, email, and social media
If your use is limited to browsing the web, checking your email, following your social media, and listening to music online, your bandwidth needs are modest. A connection around 100 Mbit/s from Videotron is more than enough, especially if you live alone.
HD streaming, video calls, and online classes
A more robust connection is recommended for more frequent uses:
- Remote classes on Teams or Zoom
- High-definition movies on Crave or Netflix
- Reading large documents
- Video calls with family.
A speed between 100 and 500 Mbit/s is enough to handle several simultaneous sessions of remote classes and streaming, especially in a shared space.
Online gaming, 4K streaming, and heavy downloads
If you play multiplayer games online, watch content in 4K, download large files regularly, or live with several people who do all of that at once, a Videotron GIGA connection (1 Gbit/s and up) is better suited to your reality.
Which speed is sufficient for someone living alone?
For a student living alone, a 100 Mbit/s Internet plan covers most everyday needs: online classes, HD streaming, social media, video calls, and general browsing.
The plan can also be enough if you consume content (4K streaming, online gaming, regular downloads) or if you connect several devices at the same time. That said, keeping up performance, even with several devices active at once, may call for a larger plan, such as a 500 Mbit/s plan.
Sharing the connection with a roommate without slowing down
In a shared space, bandwidth is split among everyone who is connected at the same time. The more of you there are and the more intensive your uses, the more room to breathe your connection needs.
How many Mbit/s per person?
A useful starting point: count about 25 Mbit/s per person to cover basic needs. A four-person shared space with standard use can run on a 100 Mbit/s plan. As soon as uses get more intensive (simultaneous streaming, online gaming, video calls), a 500 Mbit/s or higher connection becomes worthwhile.
Peak hours in a shared space
In a shared space, usage peaks often hit at the same time: everyone comes home, everyone logs in.
If the connection is too low for the number of users:
- Lagging occurs or videos freeze
- The quality of video calls goes down
- Loading times get longer
In a large, active shared space, a connection of at least 1 Gbit/s absorbs these simultaneous usage peaks without slowing down the connection.
The impact of the number of connected devices
Phones, laptops, tablets, gaming consoles, smart speakers, TVs, and smartwatches all share your network’s available bandwidth.
Even devices that appear inactive can consume bandwidth in the background. Software updates, cloud backups, and data synchronization can each use several Mbit/s at a time.
Take a moment to count the devices that regularly connect to your network. If you have more than five or six, or if you use smart home devices such as connected cameras, thermostats, or other automation equipment, be sure to include them in your total.
Good to know
With a 100 Mbit/s Internet plan shared among six active devices, the available bandwidth per device falls to less than 20 Mbit/s, below the 25 Mbit/s generally recommended for everyday online activities.
Which plan best matches your needs?
- 100 Mbit/s — Light to moderate use — Ideal for a student or single-person household, with web browsing, HD streaming, and online classes.
- 500 Mbit/s — Moderate to heavy use — Suitable for households of 2 to 4 people using the Internet simultaneously for streaming, gaming, and everyday online activities.
- GIGA (1 Gbit/s) — Heavy use — Recommended for households of 4 or more people, with online gaming, 4K streaming, and multiple connected devices.
- 2 GIGA / 2.5 GIGA — Very heavy use — Designed for demanding multi-user environments, intensive multitasking, and advanced smart home setups.
The right Internet speed depends on your online activities, the number of people sharing the connection, and the number of connected devices.
A student living alone with typical Internet needs may well be served by a 100 Mbit/s plan. In a shared household or for more demanding usage, 500 Mbit/s or higher can handle simultaneous online activities more effectively and help prevent slowdowns. If your needs change over time, you can always adjust your plan with Videotron.
Read also
Mis à jour 04-08-2026
Version 2.0
