Internet Speed

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Hi,

I just took an internet speed test. The results were as follows:

Download Speed: 8300 kbps (1037.5 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 966 kbps (120.8 Kb/sec transfer rate)

Can someone please explain to me what those figures mean? Are those good figures for download and upload speed, respectively?

Thank you very much.

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That depends on many factors.

The most relevant is how much bandwidth you’re paying for. You’re getting roughly 1 MB/sec upload and 120KB/sec download. If you’re paying for 1 MB/sec download and 96 KB/sec upload, that’s wonderful, almost miraculous. If you’re paying for 5 M upload and 1.5 M download, that’s probably awful, but see below. See or ask what your ISP package says you’re paying for, and post it here if you want to.

It also depends where you are in relation to the speed test server, and what lies in between. If you’re in Paris and are using a speed test server in Fiji, and you otherwise never have any reason to access a site in Fiji, the results are probably totally irrelevant. Find a speed test server which is more relevant to you.

Every Internet route has its ups and downs for various reasons. For example, there may be hours and days when your local ISP experiences an enormous overload; cable connections are more prone to this problem for technical reasons, but it happens to everyone with every kind of connection. Do your test when both your ISP and the Internet as a whole are working under normal loads. Don’t try to test your cable speed ten minutes after your local team just won the World Cup, and don’t try to test any connection ten minutes after the New York Stock Exchange closes down 30%.

As with most types of tests, a single test will normally tell you very little. It would be more useful if you tested your speed using different servers at different times.

Good luck.
C.

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Thanks for your response, David; it was helpful in that it lifted some of the fog. The first thing that I am going to do is contact my cable company to find out what bandwidth I am paying for. When I get that information, I will return to this subject.

Everyone have a wonderful Holiday Season.

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Keep in mind that the speed quotes from your cable or DSL or dial-up providers: speeds up to [whatever]
My DSL never promised me the highest speeds all the time all the days I’m connected.
As the last poster indicated — there are many many factors to be kept in mind when measuring upload/download speeds.

I think folks who pay business prices for business services probably get the best speeds.
Me? Thanks for asking. I get whatever speeds the DSL gods of the internet decide I’m worthy of that particular session.

Roland

"Take care of thy backups and thy restores shall take care of thee." Ben Franklin, revisted

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May the Forces of good computing be with you!

RG

PowerShell & VBA Rule!
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