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The Speed Test: Key Takeaways
Jonathan Schwantes, senior policy counsel at Consumer Reports, suggests using a pair of tests: one from Ookla and another from MLab.
The tests show two important results: download speed and upload speed, measured in megabits per second.
What qualifies as a good internet speed depends on what you're using it for.
If the distance is slowing your speed, consider your options: your Wi-Fi router may offer the choice between a 2.4 GHz connection and a 5 GHz connection.
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The Copper Wire Internet
DSL, which stands for Digital Subscriber Line, operates on the same copper wires that phone companies use for traditional telephone service—so-called landlines—albeit on a higher frequency range that doesn’t necessitate tying up a phone line the way dial-up service does. (Kids, ask your parents.) Phone lines were built to transmit voice, which doesn’t require a whole lot of data, so they tend to be s‑l‑o‑w.
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Cable Internet
Cable internet is piped through coaxial cables carrying signals on a copper conductor surrounded by layers of plastic and metal coating to shield it from interference (an improvement over DSL). As the coaxial cables were originally developed to transmit cable TV, which is a fairly data-intensive video and audio information, they can move a lot of data.
Since cable TV is traditionally a one-way broadcast medium, cable connections generally have faster downloads than uploads.
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Fixed Wireless
this type of connection doesn’t involve a tube running directly into your home. Getting a fixed wireless connection typically involves installing a receiver pulling in cellular service that is then converted to Wi-Fi. Fixed wireless home service isn’t universally available across the country, but some services advertise speeds that can give cable connections a run for their money.
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Fiber Optic Cables
Fibre optic cables consist of a core of ultra-thin glass surrounded by a reflective coating that transmits information as pulses of light at the speed of, well, light travelling through the glass. The fastest internet connections available today are termed “fibre to the home” because the fibre optic cables begin where you live and run all the way to where they join the larger maze of fibre optic tubes making up the internet.
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