You may be paying for more speed than you actually need, and these additional fees could be costing you month after month. Running our internet speed test is the best way to determine if your provider is actually holding up their end of the bargain. This will often solve the issue, but not always. Keep in mind that using WiFi tends to reduce performance.
The speeds advertised by internet providers are based on the speed you get with a device wired directly to the router using an ethernet cable. Before you start the test, there are a few things you can do to ensure you get the most accurate results. In order to better understand your internet speed test, it is vital to know the difference between upload speed and download speed. Upload speed refers to how quickly your connection can send something data, in this case from your device to the wider internet.
This number is often not the one heavily advertised by service providers online, and this is on purpose. In short, most activities online do not require high upload speeds. Some do, however, including Skype and other video chat services, online gaming, and large cloud storage applications like Dropbox and Google Drive. Download speed refers to how quickly your connection can retrieve data from a website or server online. Streaming multiple TV shows or movies at the same time especially 4K media and downloading large files are both examples of activities that require higher download speeds than average.
Determining how much internet speed you actually need is really a matter of how you use the internet on a daily basis. For instance, a power user in a large family who all frequently stream movies and shows, play games, and download large files is going to need a higher download speed to accommodate them. Meanwhile, someone living in a one or two-person apartment who just checks email and occasionally watches a show on Netflix will need far less. For more information, be sure to check out our guide to determining how much internet speed you need.
Though there are a variety of different internet speed tests available online, they all essentially operate in the same basic way. In essence, when you begin the test, our tool will upload a set of files from your network to the test server nearest your location. It will then perform the same test in reverse, downloading the set of files from the server instead. Throughout the process, our tool measures a variety of data points, including the speeds of both your upload and download.
Despite how useful this information can be, you will find that the speeds you see reported will almost always be a bit lower than you might have expected. These variations are to be expected, and for the most accurate results, we recommend running the test times back to back to get a solid average.
There are 1 billion bits in a Gigabit Gb. Bytes A byte is a common unit of measurement for determining how large a particular piece of data is. Each byte contains 8 bits. Since bits are such a small unit of measurement, it makes more sense to use bytes when discussing file sizes.
There are 1 billion bytes in a Gigabyte GB. Transfer Rate Simply put, transfer rate refers to how quickly data is transferred between two or more devices. Transfer rates are commonly described using a bits-per-second measurement. Kbps Kilobits per second. Only the slowest connections are measured this way. Only have one computer, tablet or mobile connected to the internet when doing a speed test. If you're using your computer you should ideally connect using an Ethernet cable.
On a wireless modem the speed can be reduced, particularly for devices that are further away from the modem. The Ethernet cables should be of good quality for fast internet connections. If the device you're using is connected by an Ethernet cable you can turn off the WiFi to stop other devices connecting. This is done by holding down the WLAN button for 10 seconds.
Just remember to turn back on after the test. Choose your nearest Spark server from the dropdown menu. Repeat the test a couple of times to get an average speed. Speed test applications Test your speed with these Speedtest. Things that affect broadband speed Actual speeds differ due to networks and the computer or modem you use.
Your home wiring can also impact internet speed. If you're on Fibre, you can choose different speeds for your plan. You can change your speed and plan once a month in MySpark. Learn more Speeds vary based on how many people are on the network at the same time, both in your house and in general. The distance from your nearest internet server will also impact the internet speed. Connecting straight to your modem using ethernet wiring provides the fastest connection speed. Things that affect WiFi speed The age of your modem.
Older modems could reduce your WiFi speed. That said, WiFi is not always improved by the quality or the cost of your modem. Internet speeds have come a long way. So, in the scale of slow old-school speeds to the gigabit speeds of NBN , where exactly does home wireless broadband fall on the speed spectrum?
We track around a dozen home wireless broadband plans in our database, which range in price and data inclusions. Check out all of the home wireless broadband plans in our comparison engine below. Because home wireless broadband uses mobile network technology to connect to the internet, the maximum download speeds can theoretically reach as fast as Mbps under the right 4G network conditions. In practical terms, though, you should expect slower speeds.
At the time of writing, Exetel was upgrading its home wireless broadband network around Australia, but its previous plans tapped out at 12Mbps download speeds. Things get a bit faster with iiNet, Internode and TPG all offering home wireless broadband speeds that are capped at a max download speed of 20Mbps via the Vodafone network. Spintel is the only other home wireless broadband provider that advertises max potential download speeds of 50Mbps, which is via the Optus 4G Plus network.
Optus offers this, too, but that 1. At the time of writing, Optus was the only provider selling 5G home wireless broadband plans, with Telstra having recently concluded a 5G home wireless broadband trial. During the Telstra 5G home wireless broadband trial, it had a download speed range between 50Mbps and Mbps during the busy evening period with averages closer to Mbps. It remains to be seen what the speeds will be when Telstra finally release 5G home wireless broadband plans.
Anecdotally, I hit Mbps download speeds on Telstra 5G recently during the middle of the day. As long as you have decent signal strength, 5G home wireless broadband seems like a viable NBN contender.
For comparison, below is a table that charts and ranks the different download and upload speeds based on the main internet types that are or have been available in Australia.
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