Bandwidth Requirements Calculator
Internet speed needed for telehealth video quality.
About this calculator
Per-session bandwidth — the raw Mbps consumed by a single bidirectional video call before overhead — is dominated by video resolution, since jumping between the calculator's four resolution tiers (360p, 480p, 720p, 1080p) swings the per-stream video rate from 0.5 Mbps up to 4.5 Mbps, a far larger spread than screen-share usage, protocol overhead, or the number of concurrent sessions can produce for this specific figure. That last point is easy to misread: concurrent sessions and protocol overhead percentage do not move per-session bandwidth at all, because per-session bandwidth is deliberately a single-call figure — concurrent sessions and overhead only enter the calculation once the model scales up to Total Required (Mbps), which multiplies the per-session figure by session count and then applies the overhead percentage on top. Screen-share usage has a small but real effect on the per-session number, since screen-sharing adds a flat 1.5 Mbps only while active, scaled by what percentage of sessions use it.
Recommended Line Speed layers a further 30% headroom on top of Total Required, intended to absorb jitter and traffic bursts rather than represent steady-state average consumption. One simplification worth calling out: every concurrent session is assumed to use the same resolution and the same screen-share likelihood, when a real clinic's video mix often varies by visit type — a dermatology visit needing higher resolution than a routine follow-up, for instance — so a clinic with mixed visit types should budget toward the higher end of its typical resolution mix rather than relying on a single blended resolution setting.
Medical Disclaimer
This calculator is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before making decisions about your health. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking it because of results from this tool.
Inputs
Results
Per-Session Bandwidth (Mbps)
5.5
Total Required (Mbps)
33
How to Use This Calculator
- Enter Concurrent Video Sessions for the number of simultaneous telehealth video calls running at the same time.
- Select the Video Resolution: 360p, 480p, 720p HD, or 1080p Full HD.
- Set Screen-Share Usage (%) for the share of sessions that use screen-sharing simultaneously.
- Set Protocol Overhead (%) to account for TCP/IP, TLS encryption, and TURN relay overhead (typically 15-25%).
- Review Per-Session Bandwidth and Total Required (Mbps) for all concurrent sessions.
- Use Recommended Line Speed (Mbps), which already includes 30% headroom for jitter and bursts, when sizing your internet connection or network upgrade.
How the result changes with Screen-Share Usage (%)
| Screen-Share Usage (%) | Per-Session Bandwidth (Mbps) | Total Required (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | 5.35 | 32.1 |
| 15 | 5.43 | 32.55 |
| 30 | 5.65 | 33.9 |
| 50 | 5.95 | 35.7 |
What each input means
- Concurrent Video Sessions
- Number of simultaneous telehealth video calls running at the same time.
- Video Resolution
- Video quality level for each session.
- Screen-Share Usage (%)
- Percentage of sessions that use screen-sharing simultaneously (adds ~1.5 Mbps each).
- Protocol Overhead (%)
- TCP/IP, TLS encryption, and TURN relay overhead. Typically 15-25%.
What each result means
- Per-Session Bandwidth (Mbps)
- Raw bandwidth consumed by a single bidirectional video session.
- Total Required (Mbps)
- Total bandwidth needed for all concurrent sessions including overhead.
- Recommended Line Speed (Mbps)
- Recommended internet speed with 30% headroom for jitter and bursts.
- Upload Needed (Mbps)
- Estimated upload bandwidth (roughly half of total for symmetric video).
- Download Needed (Mbps)
- Estimated download bandwidth (roughly half of total for symmetric video).
- Monthly Data Usage (GB)
- Estimated monthly data transfer assuming 8-hour days, 22 business days.
How this is calculated
Worked example, using the default values
- Identify Input Parameters4 parametersConcurrent Video Sessions = 5, Video Resolution = 2, Screen-Share Usage (%) = 20, Protocol Overhead (%) = 20 = 4 input(s) provided
- Calculate Per-Session BandwidthPer-Session Bandwidth = videoPerSession + audioPerSession + screenSharePerSession5.5 = 5.5
- Calculate Total RequiredTotal Required = totalRaw * (1 + overheadPct / 100)33 = 33
- Calculate Recommended Line SpeedRecommended Line Speed = totalWithOverhead * 1.342.9 = 42.9
- Calculate Upload NeededUpload Needed = round((totalWithOverhead / 2) * 100) / 10016.5 = 16.5
Engine last updated . Checked against 2 independently-derived tests — how we verify calculators. Built by Paul Gunder, a software engineer, not a licensed financial, medical, or legal professional.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does resolution matter so much more than the number of concurrent sessions to the per-session figure?
Per-Session Bandwidth (Mbps) is specifically a single-call number, and video resolution alone swings the underlying per-stream video rate from 0.5 Mbps at 360p to 4.5 Mbps at 1080p — a 9× spread. Concurrent sessions has no effect on this particular output at all, since it only comes into play once the model multiplies per-session bandwidth by session count to produce Total Required (Mbps). To see the impact of adding more simultaneous sessions, look at Total Required rather than Per-Session Bandwidth.
Does protocol overhead change how much bandwidth a single video call uses?
No — Protocol Overhead (%) is applied only when the calculator scales up from a single session to Total Required (Mbps) across all concurrent sessions, representing TCP/IP, TLS encryption, and TURN relay costs on the aggregate connection. Per-Session Bandwidth (Mbps) reports the raw video, audio, and screen-share data rate for one call before any protocol overhead is layered on.
How much bandwidth does screen-sharing actually add?
The calculator adds a flat 1.5 Mbps to a session while screen-sharing is active, scaled by the percentage of sessions using it — so at the default 20% screen-share usage, the average contribution per session is 0.3 Mbps (1.5 × 0.20). This is added directly into Per-Session Bandwidth alongside the video and audio streams, making screen-share usage a real but comparatively minor driver next to resolution.
Why is Recommended Line Speed higher than Total Required?
Total Required (Mbps) already includes protocol overhead, but Recommended Line Speed adds a further 30% on top of that as headroom for jitter and traffic bursts — real-world network conditions where instantaneous demand briefly exceeds the steady-state average. When sizing an actual internet plan or network upgrade, the calculator intends for you to provision against Recommended Line Speed rather than Total Required, since the latter represents an average rather than a peak.
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