Understanding your speed test results in the most important aspect in broadband or internet basics. Your speed test result can help you determine if your broadband connection is stable, reliable and consistent. Speed test results can give you a reality check so that you know if you are getting your money’s worth. But, do you know what are the essential things to look out for in your internet speed test results? Let us help you out there.

What is measured on Internet Speed Tests?

Most popular and reliable speed test providers measure and report three important internet metrics: upload speed, download speed, ping and latency.

1. Download Speed:

   Download speed can be measured by the number of megabits you consume per second to receive data such as images, video files, etc. Activities like listening to audio online, receiving an email, streaming on services like Netflix or Prime video can be considered as downloading. Usually, a download speed of 25Mbps is considered ideal for streaming videos, engaging on video calls, etc.

2. Upload speed:

   Upload speed is referred to as the number of megabits of data you can send to another device over your internet connection. Though downloading is more widely known and understood, uploading data is the opposite of downloading. It can be simply understood as sending an email, playing a video game, etc. When people see your video calls blurred, it can be understood that there is an issue with your upload speed. Usually, upload speeds of 3Mbps are considered to be good enough for work from home, video calling, etc.

3. Ping:

   A ping is a request sent to a server requesting a response. The server sends back a response in a single packet, if available. This transaction is calculated in milliseconds. The ping time is the amount of time taken by the request to circle back with a response to the device. Ping tests are more commonly used by gamers to understand the amount of time it took for them to hit a host with a request and get a response. Higher the ping time, more the data transfer delays you are bound to experience.

4. Jitter:

   Technically a jitter is a variance in the latency experienced. For example, you may usually get a latency of 20ms on the server you are playing on. You might get spikes of 70ms or even 220ms, before it drops back to 20ms. Anything under 100ms is considered as acceptable latency to game on, however, latency under 25ms is preferred by most gamers.##BlogVASBanner##

How to Perform a Speed Test

Your internet speed test work by first identifying the closest server, this is depicted on the lower right corner of your speed test. You can follow the below steps to perform a speed test and get accurate test results:

• Select a speed test provider that you’d like to use to administer the internet speed test. Most commonly used internet speed test is the speed test by Ookla.
• Press on Go and wait for the internet speed test results to show up.
• To ensure that you get the most accurate speed test results, you need to be disconnected from a VPN. Also, do stop all uploads and downloads for the time being. Check if the server picked by the internet speed test provider is the one closest to you.

How can you improve your internet speed test results?

1. Check your router:

   Make your that your router is placed in a central location and the signals are not constrained by objects. Another important aspect to note is the make and model of the router. You need to ensure that your router is compatible with your internet speed plan.

2. Switch frequency bands:

   2.4Ghz frequency band should be used for longer distances and lower bandwidth, whereas 5Ghz frequency band should be used for a shorter distance and larger bandwidth.

3. Use a LAN cable:

   Try connecting to your router with a LAN cable to check the exact speed that the broadband is delivering. If the LAN cable is able to help you get better speeds, you need to get your router checked.

If you are looking for a high speed internet connection for your home or office, you can check out ACT Fibernet’s internet plans here.