The Internet’s come a long way in the last 20 years. I remember having to coordinate with my parents’ phone call schedules so that I could jump online to MySpace or MSN Messenger with the revolutionarily high speeds of dial-up. If I was lucky, I could even get enough time online to download a couple of songs before someone picked up the phone and knocked me off my connection.

Back in those days, the amount of data we used was never really an issue. Let’s face it. We could realistically only download so much content with the speeds that were available. But as I said, we’ve come a long way. Now, there are packages available that allow you to surf and stream up to 150Mbps. Put into perspective, that’s roughly over 2,700-times faster than traditional dial-up! These new speeds can open up an entirely new world of possibilities to explore online. But if you’re not careful, you might discover that while exploring this online world, your data can add up quickly.

So how can you make sure you aren’t going over your limit? Here are a few options that have helped me in the past.

1.     Check with your Internet Service Provider (ISP). In my experience, giving your ISP a quick call to check how far into your monthly data plan you are is a simple process. You might want to make sure you have an ISP with great customer service though!

2.     Use a tracking tool. Some ISPs will provide a tracking tool to their customers. Simply log in to your customer account – which is typically online – and you’ll see how much data you’ve used up so far.

3.     Track with a spreadsheet. This option may not be the easiest solution of the three listed here, but it can certainly be an effective one. If you take a look at how much data it takes to download or stream the specific types of media you use, you can do some quick math to see approximately how much you can stream without hitting your cap. Take a look below to find the average data rates for some of the different types of media.

Media Size Chart

Now, if you’re anything like me, finding yourself regularly lost in a Netflix binge is all too familiar. So let’s put some of the above data rates into perspective.

Two months ago, I decided it would be a great idea to watch the entire 2^nd season of House of Cards in a single day. Some call me ambitious… In any case, let’s do the math on this. If there are 13 episodes in a season, each between 45 and 60 minutes, that adds up to almost 8GB of data – assuming you watch in HD. Now tack that on to any other hefty gaming downloads or movie streaming you do, and you’ve racked up quite the amount of data per month.

So how can you avoid paying an arm and a leg to get the amount of data you need? Doing a little bit of research into indie ISPs like TekSavvy will show you that it’s easier – and cheaper – than ever to save! With high speed Internet starting at just $24.95 per month and with available Unlimited data options, you’ll never have to worry about going over your limit again.

It’s time to surf and stream with confidence. Make the switch to TekSavvy today!

Graham Hamilton
Marketing Communications Specialist