When you buy through affiliate links in our content, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Learn What Does Internet Speed Test Mean?
An internet speed test is a website or web application that measures a user’s internet connection speed. It reports on:
- Upload speed
- Download speed
- Bandwidth
- Ping
- Jitter
- Packet loss
However, these features are all dependent on the speed test host. Some hosts only report on some of these parameters, but speed and bandwidth are standard.
Techopedia Explains Internet Speed Test
An internet speed test is the process of analyzing broadband connection parameters by sending a small file from the server and measuring the time it takes to download and then upload the file back to the server. Along the way, parameters like jitter and packet loss can also be calculated. Some speed test hosts also measure ping, which is the time for a message to make a round trip from the sender to its destination and back, by sending an Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) echo request packet to the host.
The best speed tests have multiple host servers across the globe, which allow a user to test internet speed to different locations. It is best to test speed with a server that is near the server of the website or web application in use; otherwise, the reported speed does not reflect the user’s actual working speed.
