The Internet Speed Test - Knowing Your Connection's Real Speed

To measure an Internet connection's speed, a person must run an Internet speed test to exactly know how fast data is transferred to and from a remote web server.

The speed of a connection is measured by how fast it can transfer data. A bit is the basic and smallest amount of data a computer uses to store and send. It is composed of zeroes (0) and ones (1) in any possible combination. One character corresponds to 8 bits, which makes 8 bits equivalent to one byte.

What an Internet speed test does is measure the connection's bandwidth. There are basically two categories of Internet connections. Broadband and dial up (narrow band). A dial up connection's data transfer rate would only reach at 56 kbps.

There are several types of broadband connections. Some of the most commonly used today are cable, DSL (Digital Subscriber Line), and satellite.

So why is it important to measure your connection speed? The most practical reason would be to know if you are getting your money's worth. Most Internet Service Providers (ISP) charge their clients based on their Internet connection speed. You do not actually have to believe what your ISP says that your bandwidth is.

An Internet connection has two channels, the download (downstream) and the upload (upstream). An Internet speed test works by connecting to a web server. After that, the testing process begins by downloading and uploading data to that certain server. The speed is then measured by how much time it took to send and receive data.

When you test your Internet speed, you will be given an idea on what is your real bandwidth compared to what your ISP tells you. If the figures are somewhat close, then you are getting your money's worth. There are so many websites that offer this type of service. Searching the Internet for "Internet speed test" will yield many results.

Before anything else, you must remember that an Internet speed test is not always reliable. Meaning, you will have to take several ones before you get a clear idea on what your real bandwidth is because there are many factors that affect an Internet connection's speed. First may be the quality of the lines or cables, the "traffic" of the web server you use to connect, and the physical distance from the server.