Speakeasy Speed Test

Internet speed is only part of the story. While conventional speed tests measure throughput, you should also test the Internet quality of your connection.

Some providers may use old copper connections while others deliver your service using state-of-the-art fiber connectivity. These, along with other factors, could impact latency, jitter and packet loss. Plus, these affect your bandwidth quality.

Depending on whether you are using your connection for VoIP, video conferencing, or mission-critical applications, you may need a higher quality service. Our Internet quality test does this for you and helps highlight potential risks to your business.

Download Speed
The speed at which your Internet connection transmits data to your computer. This is the largest amount of data you can receive in a specified amount of time. Download speed is measured in Megabits per second (Mbps).

Upload Speed
The opposite of download speed, this measures the largest amount of information that you can send from your computer using your access provider’s connection. This is also measured in Mbps.

Latency (Ping)
Internet latency is a measurement focused on how long it takes a packet of data to complete a round trip between two points. High latency will be noticed on voice calls through delays in conversation and periods of silence. In addition, web pages may load more slowly.

Jitter
To measure the variation over time of latency across the network, you need a jitter test. High jitter values may cause voice packets to be delivered out of order, which can result in echo or talk-over effects.

For business users, you should have enough downstream capacity to accommodate office needs. VoIP calls, video streaming, web browsers, and email transfers all require downstream throughput. Upload speed is critical for making VoIP calls, sending large files, and hosting websites.

Try these tips if you experience a slow connection or unexpectedly poor quality, as several factors may by impacting your service.

1. Stop any downloads or programs that may be using your connection while running the speed test.
2. Use a wired Ethernet connection instead of WiFi or cellular services as there may be interferences.
3. Try rebooting your modem or router and run the speed test again.

You may want to contact your Internet service provider if you’re still seeing slow speeds. They can help you properly diagnose the problem. Another option is to check and see if Fusion Connect can provide faster service. They can provide a report of all the business internet speeds and products available at your address.

There are many factors that impact your results. Throughput problems in your local area network, IP or access overhead, and network design all play a role. Please read the definitions and examples below to learn more about these factors.

• Download
  Download is a measure of how fast your connection delivers content to your computer or local area network.
• Upload
  Upload is the measure of how fast content is delivered from your computer or local area network to others on the Internet.
  
  For businesses or power-users, download and upload speed should match or at least be very close. This is important for applications like VoIP, video conferencing, cloud-based apps like Office365, online gaming and other interactive programs. Upload speed is even more important if you are operating a server at your location. If achieving optimal upload speed is a concern, consider Dedicated Internet Access, like Fiber.
• Kbps
  Kbps transfer rate = kilobit per second transfer rate. There are 8 bits in a byte, so we would divide kbps by 8 to get KB/sec transfer rate.
• Mbps
  Mbps transfer rate = megabits per second transfer rate. 1000 kilobits equals one megabit. One megabit per second equals 1 million bits per second. Mbps is the industry-standard used by ISPs.
• MBps
  MegaBytes per second. There are 8 megabits in one megabyte.
• Latency
  In a network, latency, a synonym for delay, is an expression of how much time it takes for a packet of data to get from one designated point to another. In some usages, latency is measured by sending a packet that is returned to the sender and the round-trip time is considered the latency. Low latency is extremely important for businesses and power-users.
• Transfer Rate
  Transfer rate is speed at which data can be transmitted between devices. As files to download become increasingly larger, the highest data transfer rate is most desirable.
• Throughput
  Throughput is the maximum amount of communication or messaging that can be transmitted through a communication channel during an elementary unit of time, usually, in a second.
  
  Depending on the type of channel, the addressing mechanism used in that channel, the type of messages are being transmitted and how secure the transmission needs to be—along with physical attributes like temperature, humidity and signal-to-noise ratios—actual measured throughput will vary.

Factors that frequently influence throughput:

• The number of devices sharing the access circuit and the activity the other devices are generating while speed test is being run on one of the devices
• A rogue LAN port that is clogging the LAN with transmission
• A leaky LAN port which degrades LAN performance
• LAN signaling issues which create a lot of packet re-transmission for the devices on the LAN
• LAN Router with performance issues, low processing power or Deep Packet Inspection and advanced security features like URL blocking enabled
• Wireless Access Points on the LAN side
• Distance (both geographical as well as number of hops) between the speed testing client and the server

Why do I get a “socket error” message?
An error may result from having the test open in more than one browser tab or window. The test may fail to complete and display the following message:
“A socket error occurred during the Upload test. Please try again later.”

To prevent this error, and get the most accurate test results, close all other browser tabs and windows before running the test.

Why is the location I usually pick missing from the City list?
Before beginning, the speed test tool completes an initial latency test to our servers, and if a server does not respond within a specified time frame, it is not included in the City list.

A slow response can be caused by latency or packet-loss between the client and server, or particularly high Internet usage (during peak hours). Do try the test again in a little while.

Which browser should I use to run Speed Test Plus?
We recommend using the most recent version of your favorite browser. If you still cannot see Speed Test Plus (but other content appears), you may need to adjust your browser’s security setting. Try lowering the setting to allow the broadband quality test to load.

Why am I receiving “Could not connect to the Internet” errors when I am connected?
In some cases, firewall and security software can prevent the test from running and generate a “could not connect” error. Temporarily lowering the severity should allow the speed test to run. Be sure to turn it back on before leaving our website.

Why didn’t the test choose the server location nearest me?
The tool automatically detects the optimal server host location for testing, which is not necessarily the closest server host. This is due to real-time network circumstances like number of hops, or current traffic load on each test server. Change the selection using the Change City drop down function directly underneath the Start Test button.

Why is my speed lower than expected?
Several factors may slow your connection, resulting in lower-than-expected speeds. Try these simple suggestions below. But if your slower speeds persist, contact your broadband service provider to see if they can determine the issue.

1. Be sure to stop any downloads or programs that may be using your connection while running Speed Test Plus.
2. When using a wireless connection, there may be wireless interference. Try using a wired Ethernet connection instead.
3. Try rebooting your modem or router and then running the test again.

Why do I see a license expiration notice?
This notice is in place to protect our test from being stolen and run, mirrored, or framed into another website.

To remove this notice:

Make sure you are going to https://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest. We have software in place to block our internet quality test from being used in any other domain.

Also, you may have an older version of the test cached in your browser. Clearing your cache and Fusion Connect cookies should make the license expiration notice disappear.

How does security software and firewalls impact the test?
Our broadband quality test sends packets of empty data back and forth to your computer in order to test your line speed. Since we are a third-party sending a receiving a tiny data packet from your computer to perform the test, some ad block or security services interpret this as an attack and act accordingly. Temporarily lowering the severity should allow the test to work. Be sure to turn it back on before leaving our website.

How do I save my bandwidth test results?
Your most recent results are saved under Results History when tested on desktop or tablet.