Interpreting Your Speed Test Results
- Download is a measure of how fast your connection delivers content to your computer or local area network.
With most web pages and stock email programs you’ll find very little difference between, a 1.5MB download and a 3.0MB download. However, for larger files or a connection used by a large number of people a lower download speed can be the difference between a quality broadband experience and a frustratingly poor experience.
- Upload is the measure of how fast content is delivered from your computer or local area network to others on the Internet.
To achieve optimal delivery of T1 or SDSL services, download and upload speed should match or at least be very close. This is very important for applications like VoIP, email, on-line gaming and other internet interactive programs. Upload speed is even more important if you are operating an email, web or file server at your location.
Many broadband providers, especially cable and phone companies, see broadband as another broadcast medium and don’t tailor their connections for optimal upload speeds. The bottom line is that it’s important to not underestimate the importance of upload speeds, especially if you are a “contributor” of data to the rest of the Internet.
- Kbps transfer rate = kilobit per second transfer rate. There are 8 bits in a byte, so we would divide kbps by 8 to get KB/sec transfer rate.
