Accessing The Web In 2020 & Beyond
Although broadband speeds are improving across the country, more and more users are accessing the web on their mobile and downloading content when not connected to wi-fi. It is therefore the responsibility of staff to ensure that files uploaded to the Learning Space are sized appropriately.
Internet Speeds In The South-West
Below are typical internet speeds in megabytes per second (MBPS) students may experience where they reside - although they could be considerably worse.
| Speed Type | Falmouth | Penryn |
| Download | 22.9mbps | 7.2mbps |
| Upload | 0.9mbps | 0.4mbps |
An Example Of How Long It Could Take Students To Download The Following Files:
| File Type & Typical Size | London (39.0mbps) | Falmouth (22.9mbps) | Penryn (7.2mbps) |
| Word Document (2mb) | 0.05s | 0.08s | 0.2s |
| Powerpoint (15mb) | 0.38s | 0.65s | 2.08s |
| Audio (100mb) | 2.56s | 4.36s | 13.88s |
| Video (750mb) | 19.23s | 32.75s | 1min 44s |
An Example Of How Long It Could Take To Upload The Following Files:
| File Type & Typical Size | London (8.7mbps) | Falmouth (0.9mbps) | Penryn (0.4mbps) |
| Word Document (2mb) | 0.22s | 2.2s | 5s |
| Powerpoint (15mb) | 1.72s | 16.66s | 37.5s |
| Audio (100mb) | 11.49s | 1min 51s | 4mins 10s |
| Video (750mb) | 1min 26s | 13mins 52s | 31min 15s |
What is a reasonable file size?
There is no definitive answer to this question, however before uploading any file to the Learning Space you should first consider the compression tips on the following pages:
- I'm uploading a Word document.
- I'm uploading a PDF document.
- I'm uploading a Powerpoint document.
- I'm uploading a video file.
- I'm uploading an audio file.
- I'm uploading an image.
- I'm uploading a collection of files. (see Zip guidelines)
- I'm uploading a large file.
By following these guidelines you should be able to reduce the size of your files.
Can I use third-party software to reduce the size of my file?
There is 3rd party software that will help compress your documents, however you use these at your own risk. The university has a range of software that can already perform much of the functionality that these 3rd party software providers offer without the risk of infecting your device with a virus.
What If My File Is Still Over The 1GB Limit?
If you're still having issues with file sizes you should first contact your module leader as it is likely that there are other students with the same issue. You may also like to contact etsupport@falmouth.ac.uk who will be able to offer more advice.
Further Support
For further support on Learning Space, or to report any issues with this guide, please get in touch with the Digital Learning Team via dlsupport@falmouth.ac.uk. Alternatively, please refer to the numerous help guides found on our Knowledge Base.
View the Accessibility Statement for all of our support guides.