How to Check Broadband Internet Speed
Checking your broadband Internet speed is fast, simple and free and can be done by using an online speed test website. By checking your broadband speed, you can determine whether you have enough bandwidth to perform certain tasks, such as downloading a file or hosting a website. You can also compare the speed you are getting to the speed your Internet company charges you for.
- Visit the speedtest.net website. Click on the button that says “begin test.”
- Wait while the website performs the test. It will find a server to ping from and will measure the download speed. This is measured in megabytes per second. The website will automatically begin testing the upload speed, also measured in megabytes per second.
- Review the results, which will be listed in the corresponding box for both download and upload speed. Usually, download speeds will be larger than upload speeds.
- Click on “share this result” if you would like to email the results of the test to yourself or someone else. This can help with keeping records or can be useful in letting the technology department know whether you are having problems with your Internet speed.
- Fill out the brief survey on the front of the results page about your current broadband service. This survey includes what download and upload speeds you were promised by your Internet company, how much you pay per month and your location by postal code.
- Test again, if desired, by clicking the “test again” button. You can also test using a different server by clicking the “new server” button. Different servers might allow different bandwidth speeds.