Tool
A rough minimum internet line speed for a college, university or skills provider, from three numbers you choose. It multiplies the users online at the same time by the Mbps each needs — nothing more. There are no built-in defaults: no UK source gives a per-user figure for colleges or universities, so you enter your own.
suggested minimum line speed
Rounded up to the next whole Mbps. A real design also allows for growth, peaks and the other traffic on your network — talk to your network team or supplier.
Fill in all three numbers to see an estimate.
No UK source we have found gives a Mbps-per-student figure for colleges or universities, so the estimator doesn’t assume one. These sourced figures give some context.
Capacity for 1Gbps download and upload
Over full fibre — a leased line or fibre to the premises. The DfE says “copper connections do not meet this standard.” It is a figure per institution, not per user. Universities are not named in the DfE standards.
Source: DfE: Broadband internet core standard · Checked 25 October 2026
1G, 2×1G, 10G or 2×10G
Jisc describes the service as “particularly appropriate for FE, smaller organisations” and organisations with small IT teams. Hardware support is same business day (4 hours + 1), subject to site access. Resilience options cost extra.
Source: Jisc: Managed router service · Checked 25 October 2026
The US Federal Communications Commission adopted these targets for US schools in 2014. They are not a UK standard and weren’t written for colleges or universities. Shown only as a comparison, based on your total users (not the share online at once).
Source: US FCC: Summary of the E-rate Modernization Order · Checked 25 October 2026
That’s all. It doesn’t know your applications, your sites, how traffic is shared between them, or how much of your connection is used by research, video or backups. Use it as a starting point for a conversation, not a specification. Your numbers stay in your browser and the page address; we don’t store them.