(1) How do you test the bandwidth?
We compute the throughput of your internet connection by measuring the time it needs to down- and upload a different set of random, uncached data from our servers to your computer and vice versa. We do that five times for each direction. With these five results, we calculate the truncated means (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truncated_mean), that you get as your results.
(2) Could I run the test on my mobile device?
Yes, you could, but make sure, you don’t exceed your traffic data plan: in total you will transfer about 3.5 Megabytes of data. Don’t run this test outside your home country (“roaming”)!
(3) My connection should be better than the test said …
The results of the test could be affected by any other network traffic between your computer and our server. If you’re running other downloads or if you’re streaming music or video, this would affect the test results.
Aside from this, normally your internet connection is shared with other customers of your ISP. During times of high demand, this shared connections might cause data congestion on the line, hence less bandwidth for each customer.
Also, the quality of your physical line could have some impact on your bandwidth througput.
(4) Why did I get different results after running the test again?
The test shows the time it needs to down- and upload certain data. Factors such as described in (3) could result in returning different results.
(5) I constantly don’t get the bandwidth I pay for …
If you are not getting the bandwidth throughput promised by your ISP, contact their technical support team for further troubleshooting of your connection. If they can’t help you, perhaps it’s time to look for another ISP.