How To Test My Bandwidth Internet?

 Digitization across all streams has become the new norm globally in India. This coupled with the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic related remote working atmosphere has led to the increase in demand for high-speed internet connection for both work and entertainment.  This surge in demand has led to severe disruptions in internet connections leading to delay in work. This has led internet users to evaluate their internet speed, to ensure that they are getting the desired speed as indicated in their internet plan.  It is equally important that an internet user verifies their internet bandwidth for assessing accuracy in data transmission.

What is Bandwidth?

It is important that users understand what is meant by bandwidth. Users tend to confuse bandwidth and internet speed. Bandwidth relates to the optimum data transfer over an internet connection in a specified time period. It indicates the volume of data that gets transferred and not the speed with which data is sent from your internet connection. Bandwidth gets measured in megabits per second (Mbps). For instance, members of your family may be using various gadgets like mobile, laptops simultaneously. This would entail a need for a high bandwidth level, so as to maintain the same internet speed across multiple devices. So, for interpreting the quality of internet speed, bandwidth is an important parameter. Your daily activities like streaming HD content, gaming, downloading require a specific bandwidth speed for ensuring that you enjoy an uninterrupted internet connection, without much buffering.

So, higher bandwidth provided by your internet provider, ensures you can conduct daily online tasks easily. If you require, to stream 4k content, at least 25 Mbps speed is required.  

How To Test My Internet Bandwidth?

Follow the below steps to test your bandwidth internet:

·       Connect the computer to a router via an ethernet cable

·       Connect to the closest server to your location, for undertaking the speed test

·       Do not connect to any VPN connection

·       Click open the web browser

·       Navigate to www.speedtest.net

·       Tap the “Go” tab

·       The bandwidth internet speed will be shown

How to ensure bandwidth internet speed-accuracy?

To assure that the bandwidth internet speed result is accurate, ensure that

·       No one else is connected to the internet while running the speed test

·       Any kind of upload and download activity is not being undertaken

·       You have a wired connection. Otherwise, be very close to your wireless router

·       The speed test is run multiple times during the day for verifying any device-related issue

·       Authenticate the frequency of the bandwidth. A 2.4Ghz frequency band works well for longer distances and lower bandwidths.  For shorter distances and larger bandwidth, it is better to go for a 5Ghz frequency band to get the best result.

The above steps would help a user to test their bandwidth internet with accuracy. It will also help them to evaluate whether their existing internet connection is giving them the required amount of bandwidth, as per their internet plan. Otherwise, it would be a better idea, to get their existing internet plan changed to ensure an uninterrupted high-speed internet connection at all times.