Internet Speed Test

What It Means

An internet speed test is a software tool that measures real-world network performance by transferring data between your device and a nearby test server, reporting download throughput, upload throughput, latency, and often jitter and packet loss. The most widely used consumer speed tests include Speedtest by Ookla (the market leader, owned by Ziff Davis, over 50 billion tests run globally, the FCC uses Ookla data for competitive assessments), Netflix Fast.com (launched 2016, specifically measures throughput to Netflix's own CDN to detect ISP throttling of Netflix), M-Lab NDT (Measurement Lab, an open research platform backed by Google, Internet2, and others, used by Google Search speed test results), and the FCC Speed Test app (the FCC's own measurement platform, results feed into the Measuring Broadband America program). Each test uses slightly different methodologies: Ookla opens 4 to 16 parallel TCP streams and reports the maximum sustained throughput, M-Lab NDT measures single-stream TCP throughput (which better reflects real-world web browsing and file downloads), Fast.com tests against Netflix Open Connect CDN endpoints which are often embedded inside ISP networks. Results can vary 10 to 30% between tests run back-to-back on the same connection due to different server distances, different numbers of parallel streams, different test durations, and different measurement windows. For most accurate results: always test over wired ethernet if possible, close all other bandwidth-consuming applications, run three tests spaced a few seconds apart and take the median, and repeat at different times of day to detect peak-hour degradation. The Broadband Grade speed test tool measures real download throughput using modern HTTP/2 test methodology.

Frequently Asked Questions