How to Check DSL Network Speed for Free

DSL, or Digital Subscriber Line, is a communications technology that allows for high-speed digital transmission of data over existing phone lines. DSL is one of the most popular broadband Internet services, and is offered by most major telecommunications companies, such as Verizon and AT&T, as well as smaller Internet service providers like Earthlink. Most residential DSL connections have a highly reliable speed, although the maximum upload speed is usually substantially lower than the maximum download speed.

Things You'll Need

• Adobe Flash

Instructions

1. Stop any processes that may be using your DSL bandwidth. Stop or pause any active downloads, streaming movies, Internet radio and the like. This will ensure that the speed test is accurate.

2. Follow the link in Resources, to access DSL Reports' online Flash-based speed test. You will be shown a list of available test servers.

3. Select the city that is nearest you. Scroll all the way down, if you don't readily find your area.

4. Wait as the test is performed. The speed test will check your latency to the test server, then it will perform a test download and test upload.

5. After the test completes, the tool will show your average download and upload speeds. Compare these with the advertised speeds to determine if your connection is operating properly.

References

• Collection of tools to test broadband speed and quality

Resources

• DSL Speed Test