How to Test the Speed of Your Internet Access

Jet-speed Internet?

Internet service providers (ISPs) boast about their fast connection speeds whether you use a dial-up modem or a T1 line. The test results they offer as proof are naturally biased toward their services. The only way to obtain accurate speed test results is to use a third-party website unaffiliated with a particular ISP.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

1. CNET Internet speed test

   Download the "CNET Bandwidth Meter Online Speed Test" from the link listed in "Resources." You can locate other speed tests by searching on "Internet speed test." Look for one that is not sponsored by an ISP and that does not download testing programs onto your system. Such programs may harbor spyware or viruses.

2. Enter your three-digit area code in box 1. In this example, the area code is "949."

3. Choose your connection type under box 2. In this example, the chosen option is "DSL."

4. Specify your ISP in the box 3 drop-down (optional). In this case, the ISP is "DSL Extreme."

5. Test results

   Click the "Go" button. A message notifies you that the test is running. The results of the test are then displayed in red, graphed against other connection speeds and types. In this case, the connection speed of 1135.9 Kbps (kilobytes per second) is between 768k DSL and 1500k DSL.

Tips & Warnings

• The speed calculated by any test is affected by the amount of processing currently done by your computer (either by downloading other files or running other programs). To get the highest number, finish all downloads and shut down any other programs before conducting any test.

References

• CNET Internet speed test