Your Internet connection speed is:

Interpret your results in the What it Means section below.

Kbps versus kilobytes per second: Kbps (big "K", small "b") means kilobits per second. KB/s (big "K" and "B") means kilobytes per second. Both units measure connection speed, or in other words, how fast your computer can download data from the internet. These results are an approximation considering there may be added overhead due to transmission depending on the type of access technology(dial-up, Cable, DSL, etc.) you are using. Why show the speed in both units? Because you'll see speed written differently, depending on where you look. Modem manufacturers and network card vendors usually express speed in Kbps (or Mbps, megabits per second), while a transfer speed that you may see on your screen when you are downloading a file is usually measured in KB/s.

Speed variations (and why this test says your connection is slower than it's supposed to be): You may see different results if you run this test more than once on the same connection. Why? Because this test measures how fast a certain amount of real data can travel across the live internet to your computer. It doesn't measure the theoretical speed of your connection, but the speed at which your computer receives real data over the internet. The fluctuation is uncontrollable and results due to internet congestion. Each time that you run the test, the data could travel over the internet via a completely different path. Despite these variations, you should get fairly consistent (but not exactly equal) results if you run the test multiple times.

The measured speed of your connection listed above is probably less than what your connection is rated for. Again, this is because this test measures the speed at which real information travels across the internet to your computer. The rated speed for modems is the maximum theoretical speed, and it is almost never attained in real life. However, the actual connection speed is probably more useful anyway, because it tells you how quickly your computer can really receive information, not how quickly it's supposed to.

What it means to you: The faster the connection, the more fun things you can do online. In addition to having web pages appear almost instantaneously, a high—speed connection (DSL and up) allows you to participate in many exciting new experiences. For example, with a broadband connection (DSL, cable or T1) you can view high—quality streaming video or music, or use highly interactive, graphics-intensive Web sites. Your Internet experience becomes much richer and more enjoyable. To see sites that work best with broadband, take a look at the broadband page.

The following graphs illustrate the dramatic difference that broadband can make in your Internet experience. The first visually demonstrates the transfer rate of various connections. The second shows the time that it takes to download ICQ, a popular instant messaging program.

28.8K/56K analog modems: Analog modems deliver up to 56.6 kilobits per second. However, these modems usually deliver less than 56Kbps due to factors such as analog-to-digital data conversions and phone line quality. Despite this, analog modems are very popular due to their low cost as well as the affordability and widespread availability of dial-up Internet service. An additional phone line costs about $25/month, and dial-up Internet access is about $15-20/month.

ISDN (Integrated System Digital Network): ISDN is widely available, and next fastest solution after analog modems. It offers speeds of up to 128Kbps. Like DSL, ISDN works over standard copper phone wiring. ISDN service costs more than traditional analog dial-up services and is in the range of $70-80/month.

Satellite: Satellite Internet access is the only high-speed access solution available in many areas, including rural ones, where other technologies aren't offered. Satellite is a downstream-only technology, which means that you must also have an analog modem to send upstream requests. Rates can reach 400Kbps. Installation is about $500, and service ranges from approximately $20—$130/month. (Source: CNET.)

T1: T1 is a high-speed leased line technology. It transfers data at 1.5Mbps, and is very reliable. However, because costs are normally several hundred dollars per month, only businesses use it.

DSL: Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) uses the same copper wires as normal telephone service. It is targeted at both residential users and small businesses. The 'asymmetric' in ADSL indicates that it offers more bandwidth downstream than upstream. The downstream rates range from 384Kbps up to 8Mbps and upstream rates are from 256Kbps to 1.5Mbps. The service costs about $40-60/month or even higher depending on the desired data rate.

Cable: Cable modems offer high-speed Internet access over regular cable TV lines. They are targeted at residential and SOHO customers because cable wires are already laid in most neighborhoods. The service is relatively inexpensive and reliable. Since cable TV lines are shared among the homes in a neighborhood, there are some security concerns, and access speed slows as more people use it at the same time. Cable modems technically offer speeds up to 30Mbps, but usually achieve less than 2Mbps. Cable's widespread availability makes it DSLs primary competitor. The service costs about $40-60/month (plus a $100-175 installation fee).

For the curious, here's a somewhat technical explanantion of how this speed test works:

In step 1 (the estimation stage), after you click the "start the test" button on the introduction page, the test measures the time that it takes to send a small amount of data (so slow connections aren't overloaded) to your computer. The data is sent inside an HTML comment, and the time is measured using JavaScript.

Once the estimated speed is measured, the test sends another page with more data (to get a more accurate reading). The amount of data sent in step 2 is determined by the speed measured in step 1: a slow connection gets a small amount of data, while a high—speed connection gets a large amount of data.

Finally, when the more accurate speed has been measured, it is formatted and displayed in your browser.