Estimator · we don’t save your figures
School bandwidth estimator
The minimum internet speed the Department for Education’s broadband standard sets for your type of school — and, if you like, a rough estimate from your own users and devices to compare it with.
How it works
- Choose your type of school to see the minimum speed in DfE’s broadband standard: for a primary, at least 100 Mbps download and 30 Mbps upload; for a secondary or all-through school, capacity for 1 Gbps both ways.
- Optionally, add your users or devices, the share online at once and the Mbps each needs: users × share × Mbps, rounded up, is your estimate.
- The suggested minimum is the higher of the two.
The answer appears here as you choose. You can share or bookmark the link to your figures.
Suggested minimum line speed
0 Mbpsdownload
| DfE minimum download | |
|---|---|
| DfE minimum upload | |
| Online at the same time | |
| Your estimate |
Full fibre: the standard says “copper connections do not meet this standard” — the line should be a leased line or FTTP.
Buy a backup line too
DfE’s standard: a second connection of a different type, with automatic failover. DfE’s examples are a leased line with FTTP, or FTTP with low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite, plus redundant power on core network equipment. Put it in alongside a new connection, or as soon as possible afterwards. (DfE: Broadband internet core standard) About backup lines.
US guidance, not UK For comparison only: the US FCC target of 100 Mbps per 1,000 users short term; 1 Gbps per 1,000 users longer term would work out at (short term) and (longer term) for your users (US FCC: Summary of the E-rate Modernization Order). No UK source gives a per-pupil figure.
What this estimator does and doesn’t do
- The minimums are from DfE’s broadband internet standard for schools in England, a target to work towards by 2030. They come from our key figures page, with sources and the date we checked them.
- There is no official UK figure for the speed each pupil or device needs, so the estimate uses the figures you enter. We don’t use unofficial rules of thumb.
- It doesn’t allow for growth, for one-off busy moments such as online exams, or for how the line is shared. Talk to your supplier about those.
- Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland do things differently — see Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
- For what the standard says, read the broadband internet standard; for questions to ask, use the provider checklist.