About Internet Speed Tests
Is your high-speed Internet connection crawling at a snail's pace, or is it just your imagination? Internet speed tests can help answer this vexing question.
Scores of websites featuring free Internet speed tests are used by thousands of computer users around the world each day. These tests verify if a broadband connection is performing at the speed promised by an Internet Service Provider. In other words, Internet speed tests measure whether you are receiving what you're paying for every month.
Other People Are Reading
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Significance
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Speed counts, especially when it comes to running high-tech online applications. But the Internet is getting crowded, which is why many Internet Service Providers are considering switching from monthly subscriptions to usage-based fees. So it should come as no surprise if you are experiencing performance problems with increasing frequency.
A growing number of users rely on Internet speed tests to check that their service providers are actually delivering high-speed connections. For instance, the highly regarded Internet speed test developed by Ookla Net Metrics is utilized more than 8 million times every month.
Function
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Internet speed tests usually gauge three key variables:
* Download speed--measures how quickly your computer receives data from its broadband connection.
* Upload speed--measures how fast data is sent from your computer to others on the Internet. Based on demand, the majority of Internet Service Providers download data at considerably higher speeds than information is uploaded.
* Latency--a synonym for delay in Internet lingo--is a measurement of how much time data takes to travel between two designated points. -
Time Frame
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Internet speed tests measure download and upload rates in terms of kilobits transferred per second (kb/s). A kilobit equals 1,000 bits, or binary digits, of data. Latency is measured in milliseconds, a unit equaling 1/1000th of a second.
Geography
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Although Internet speed tests are available all over the globe, geography does play a role in measuring performance. Results may be slower for computer users who are far from the server performing the Internet speed test.
Misconceptions
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Not all Internet speed tests are created equal. Some of these tests simply measure a broadband connection's speed capacity, which may not equate to its application speed. Put simply, the speed capacity may be notably faster than the rate that data actually moves while downloading music or videos.
Another misconception many people have is that the United States is a world leader in terms of its high-speed Internet connections. The reality is that Canada, France, Japan and South Korea have better, faster Internet connections than the U.S., the nation that invented the Internet. The U.S. also ranks 15th among industrialized nations in the percentage of population that uses broadband connections to access the Internet.
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Resources
- Photo Credit http://www.speedtest.net
