The Playground

If your internet connection seems slow or you're just curious about your download or upload speeds, it's quick and easy to test and compare your results.

Speedtest.net is a broadband connection analysis tool with a huge selection of geographically dispersed testing servers. Speedtest.net measures the performance of your broadband connection. At the end of each test, you are presented with the download (the speed of data from the server to your computer) and upload (the speed of sending data from your computer to the server) bandwidth speeds. The tests are performed completely within your web browser over HTTP (just like normal web browsing).

Out of curiosity, I took the broadband speed test tonight and was impressed with my results. The interface is graphic, so you can click anywhere in the world to check your speeds. My first test was close to home and fairly quick. I was surprised with the second test, being half-way across the world and the download speed was quicker. After checking the result summary page, however, I was disappointed to see that my connection speed is only half as fast as other users who have the same ISP, and only one-third as fast compared to an Australia-wide comparison.