How to read upload and download speeds

 When you view a website with a web browser you are downloading information from the Internet.

Also read | What should be the upload and download speed

Most people spend most of the time surfing the Internet, and downloading information, which is why the download speed is usually more important than the upload speed.

It is the speed that broadband providers usually display, and what people compare.

Here is a screenshot of the standard BT broadband package, and notice there is no mention of the upload speed.

If you send email then that email is uploaded from your PC to the Internet.

If you post pictures or videos on YouTube or Facebook then those pictures/images are uploaded to the Internet.

How long that takes will depend on the upload speed of your connection.

Most broadband packages provide broadband over telephone lines, and use a technology called ADSL (Asynchronous Digital Subscriber Line ) which has a much faster download speed than upload speed.

If you have an existing broadband connection you can check your upload and download speeds using an online speed tester. Here are my results:

Notice that the upload speed is 21 times slower than the download speed. This means that a file that could be downloaded from the internet in 30 minutes would take over 10 hours to upload to the Internet.

Most Internet users aren’t currently interested in uploading files to the Internet, but with the growth in popularity of online storage there could be a increase in demand for much faster upload speeds.

The newer fiber packages from the main UK broadband providers (BT, SKY, Virgin,Talk Talk) offer significantly faster upload speeds as well as faster download speeds

The screen shot below shows the BT Infinity package with a download speed (76Mb) , which 4 times faster than the upload speed (19Mb).

If you are considering using the Internet for transferring large files then you should look for a broadband package that offers fast upload speeds.

What is a Good Upload or Download Speed?

This really depends on what you want to do with the Internet connection.

If you want to download and stream movies then a minimum of 4Mbps is needed.

If there are several people in your household that also watch movies online then you would want a little more speed.

The best indicator of slow network speeds is obtained by using the Internet.

If you find that that web pages take a long time to load, and movies take a long time to buffer, then you should check your speed.

An easier check is to check your ISP advertised speeds against your own speed.

You might find that you are paying a premium for a package because of the advertised speed but it is impossible for you to get those speeds because of your location.

See more: Upload speed and download speed explained

Internet Speed Checkers

They are many websites that allow you to check your Internet speed like this online speed tester.

However if you want to monitor your Internet speed on a regular basis then I recommend the command line to;; called speedtest-cli.

This Github page as the install and usage instructions

Summary

Speed tests are useful for checking that you aren’t paying for a connection that you aren’t getting.

However your connection speed is only one part of the overall Internet connection, and you are unlikely to notice the difference between a 10Mbit/s connection and a 6Mbit/s connection when watching, for example, a YouTube video.

The more people you have accessing the Internet through your connection the more important your connection speed becomes.

Bits and Bytes Explained

A byte has 8 bits. The size of files stored on your computer is measured in bytes.

1KB =1 kilo Bytes =1,000 Bytes and 1MB=1 Million Bytes.

When measuring data transmission speeds the measurement is bits per second or bps

Again

1 kbps =1 thousand bits per second and 1Mbps= 1Million bits/sec

Notice bits has small b and bytes a large B.

Common Questions and Answers

Q- I measured by upload and download speeds and they are very different to what the broadband provider advertised. Is this normal?

A- Yes. ISPs usually quote the best speeds possible in theory, but not in practice.

Q- I measured by download speed and it is XMbps is it fast enough?

A- It depends on what you do, or want to do with the connection and how many people use the connection. Generally speeds above 6-8 Mbps will be good for most applications.

Q- My Internet connection is slow what is the reason?

A- It is difficult to say for sure. It could be your connection to your ISP or it could be the Internet. If you check your connection and find that your download speed is around 6Mbps or faster then it is likely to be the Internet.

Q- Is it worth changing providers to get a faster internet connection?

A- Because of the way broadband is provided it is usually better to try changing the access method i.e. go to fiber instead of ADSL.

Q- Can my Wi-Fi be responsible for my low speeds?

A- Yes if you are using old Wi-Fi adapters in your laptop/PC. For example the old 802.11a standard peaked at around 5Mbps. See this Yahoo answer and this about google support tip for details

Q- I am using Cloud storage for backing up data what should I check?

A- You need to check your upload speed. Generally only fibre broadband supplies good upload speeds.

Q- Is 6 Mbps fast?

A- You can judge it’s speed by how long it takes to transfer data. A 6 MB file will take 8 secs over a 6 Mbits/s. A standard 1GB movie will take about 22 minutes to download at 6Mbps.

Q- What is more important upload speed or download speed?

A- For most people it will be the download speed as most people will be browsing the web downloading movies etc.

Also read | Internet Speeds Explained: Everything You Need to Know