Internet Health Test

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Test Your Internet Connection with a Speed Test

A speed test, also known as a broadband speed test or internet speed test, is a tool that measures the download and upload speed of your internet connection. In addition to measuring speed, many tests also measure latency (the time it takes data packets to travel between two points on the network), jitter (the variation in latency), and packet loss (data packets that were transmitted but never arrived at their destination) and network congestion. These measurements are useful for understanding your connection’s performance and can help identify potential problems with the network.

The global network for speed testing allows you to test your internet connection on all your devices (phones, tablets, computers, smart TVs)

Testing your internet speed on multiple devices is the best way to find out how your device and location are affecting performance. If you spend most of your time on one device, test it first, then move on to others. You should also test all devices at roughly the same time and place throughout your testing experience. How much time you spend on each device and wherein the home they are located will affect any results you get.

Before we get started, there are a few things to keep in mind:

  • Test multiple devices at roughly the same time and location to see how they perform
  • All tests should be conducted at roughly the same time of day with similar activity happening on your network
  • The fastest results will come from using a wired connection (Ethernet cable), but this is not required for our testing process

The speed test can tell you the exact speeds that you’re getting at a particular time, which is the first step in telling what issues may be affecting your internet

The speed test can tell you the exact speeds that you’re getting at a particular time, which is the first step in telling what issues may be affecting your internet.

Read on to learn more about why your internet speeds matter and what you can do to ensure you get the speeds you need and deserve out of your connection.

Takeaway: Once you conduct an internet speed test, you’ll have a better idea of how fast your connection is:

  • It will help you determine how much bandwidth is available on your connection. The speed test measures the amount of data that transfers over a period of time. This type of measurement is called bandwidth and is expressed in megabits per second or Mbps.
  • The speed test will help you determine how much bandwidth is used by each device on your network. Your home network has multiple users and devices, so it’s important to understand how they all affect your connection.
  • It will give you an idea of how much bandwidth you need for your home network. Once you know the number associated with the sum of all the devices using your internet (bandwidth usage), compare it to the number associated with what’s available (bandwidth availability).

What data transfer rates should you expect to see in the test results?

The following is an overview of the theoretical highest download speeds depending on whether you have broadband, fiber, WiFi, or another connection, as well as your pricing plan and service provider.

For desktop or notebook:

  • Fiber: max. up to 2 Gbit/s downloads and up to 1 Gbit/s upload with a latency of 12 ms – 33 ms
  • Satellite: 12 Mbps – 100 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload with a latency of 610 ms
  • Cable: max. up to 500 Mbit/s
  • VDSL: max. 50 Mbit/s or 100 Mbit/s
  • DSL / broadband 1000 to 16000: 1024 to 16384 Kbit/s
  • ISDN: 64 Kbit/s

For mobile devices:

  • 5G: from 1Gbps to 10Gbps, and latency, or the time it takes to send data, could go as low as 1 millisecond
  • 4.5G: 7-12 Mbps over early LTE/4G can boost network capacity by 3 to 5 times in comparison to 4G
  • 4G: max. 50 or 100 or 500 Mbit/s
  • HSPA+: 42 Mbit/s
  • HSPA: max. 7.2 or 14 Mbit/s
  • 3G: max 384 Kbit/s
  • EDGE: max. 220 Kbit/s
  • GPRS: max. 55 Kbit/s