Measuring your internet connection speed

Speeds in internet connection offers are rising across all providers of telecommunications services today. An internet connection with a speed of up to 1,000 Mbps is now almost the standard with most providers, but do you really need a connection with such a high speed? Do you know what speed you actually have at home and how to measure it? In the following article we would like to advise you how to measure your internet connection speed correctly, so that you know whether the service matches what you are paying for.

Contents:

1. What is internet connection speed?
2. Why is it important to measure internet speed?
3. How do you measure internet speed correctly?
4. What can affect the result of the test?
5. What is a good internet speed?
6. What are the fastest types of internet connection?

What is internet connection speed?

Internet connection speed determines how quickly data is downloaded (download) or sent (upload) over the internet. Speed is expressed in bits per second (bps), kilobits per second (kbps), megabits per second (Mbps) or gigabits per second (Gbps). The higher the internet connection speed, the faster data is downloaded or uploaded.

In business communication, the maximum speed is usually stated. That is the speed the provider is able to deliver regardless of the quality of the signal, the type of end device, its location or the sharing of capacity. In reality, however, the speed achieved may be lower for exactly the reasons mentioned above, which affect it. Since 1 January 2021, all providers have been obliged to state in their contract terms not only the maximum speed, but also the advertised, typically available and minimum speeds. 

And what is ping? Measuring ping shows how quickly your internet connection can send data to another computer and receive data from another computer. Ping is the time it takes for one data packet to travel there and back between two devices on the network. Each packet has a destination address and a return address, which help route it along the correct path. If you send an email to someone with a @uvtnet.cz domain name, your computer sends this domain name as the destination address and the email address of the person sending the email as the return address. 

Ping times are measured in milliseconds (ms). One packet may be sent every few hundred milliseconds, but it would be unusual for a packet to take longer than 100 ms on average to cross the whole network. The number of packets sent by your computer depends on what you are doing: if you are downloading a file from the internet, it sends a lot of packets, whereas if you are only browsing web pages, it may not send any at all. 

Why is it important to measure internet speed?

Measuring internet connection speed is important mainly to check that you are getting what you pay for. However, measuring internet speed can also help you identify connection problems, such as high latency, low download or upload speeds, or fluctuating speeds. If you find a problem with your internet speed, you can contact your internet service provider to have it resolved.

How do you measure internet speed correctly?

The best way to carry out a home measurement is to use an online internet speed testing tool. There are many of them today, but choose one through which a certified measurement can be carried out. 

To measure your internet speed correctly, follow these steps:

1. Find out what your internet connection plan is and what typically available speed it should achieve. 
2. Make sure that all downloading or streaming of data is stopped at the time of measurement. It is important that the measurement is not affected by other activities on your computer or device. No application should be running in the background. 
3. Connect only your computer or laptop using an ethernet cable. Never measure speed via Wi-Fi. 
4. Make sure that the operating system and the web browser you use are up to date.
5. Check the test results and compare them with the internet connection speed stated in your contract. 

It is ideal if you carry out at least 6 measurements within 90 minutes and save the result of each measurement. The more tests you have, the more objective the measurement will be. 

The actual speed achieved (upload and download) that you have measured should, for most of the day (95% of the time), fall within the range between the maximum speed and the typically available speed. The speed actually achieved may briefly drop below the typically available speed, but not in such a way that this drop causes major deviations or even a service outage, where the actual speed achieved falls below the agreed minimum speed. If the test results differ from the speed your connection should achieve, contact your internet service provider and inform them of the problem without unnecessary delay. 

What can affect the result of the test? 

The measurement may be affected by running it on a device with insufficient performance, by an operating system update in progress, or by running the measurement over the Wi-Fi interface of the end device. So follow the instructions above, especially if you want to file a complaint about the services supplied by your provider. 

If you connect your device wirelessly, choosing a suitable Wi-Fi router is important. Not every router can handle the speed supplied. This means that you may have a connection advertised at 2,000 Mbps at home, but your router cannot pass on such a speed. So always check with your provider which device you need, and ideally buy it directly from them.

A complaint can be made for any drop below the minimum speed, for a drop below the typically available speed lasting longer than 70 minutes, and also if there are at least three drops below the typically available speed, each lasting at least 3.5 minutes, within 90 minutes. 

What are the fastest types of internet connection?

Updated 15 April 2024