Check Internet Connection Speed: a guide to your internet speed

Your PC is probably infected with adware & spyware if: You have downloaded music online Your PC is running extremely slow You are pestered by those horrible popup ads Your homepage keeps changing

Nowadays, there are so many different internet connection speeds available from various internet service providers that the choice can be bewildering. ISPs will try to make their service sound good however they can, even if the speed statistics they are quoting may be misleading you, their customer.

When you check internet connection speed, do you know what a 56k modem actually means, speed-wise? What about a 256k DSL connection? A 1 megabit cable connection? The language of internet connection speed can be alien to all but the most technical of users, and what’s more these measurements aren’t the same ones used by your web browser or your hard drive.

The Basics to Check Your Internet Speed

First, the basics. When you check internet connection speed it is measured in bits, kilobits (kb, or just k), and megabits (mb). Pay special attention to the small b.

• There are 1024 bits in a kb
• There are 1024 Kb in a mb.

Now for the complicated part. Your ISP will always measure your speed in bits, but measurements of download speeds and hard drive space are done in bytes, kilobytes (kB) and megabytes (mB). Remember: small b means bits, large B means bytes. The size of the m and the k don’t matter - they can be big or small.

What’s the difference between a bit and a byte? More than you might think. There are 8 bits in a byte, 8 kb in 1 kB, and 8 mb in 1 mB.

That means that your 56k modem can only actually handle a maximum of 7kB per second. Your 256k DSL connection is capable of 32kB per second. Even a 1 megabit cable connection is only actually able to download 128 kB per second.

Before you check internet connection speed you shouldn’t be impressed by the numbers the ISP gives them in bits - always divide the numbers by eight to get the real speed that you are paying for in the units that your web browser uses to measure internet speed. If what your ISP says looks too good to be true, then it probably is. Never be afraid to challenge them and demand value for your money.