Broadband Card Review

Posts Tagged ‘Internet Speed’

No matter what kind of broadband service you use (whether it be satellite, cable, DSL, or broadband card), you might be curious about how quickly your computer is downloading and uploading data to the internet.  You can make an educated guess by watching how fast it downloads a video or picture, but you won’t really know unless you do a little more investigation, and there is a more technical way to find out how fast your broadband connection is.

Some broadband cards show your internet connection speed on the software that comes with the device.  My broadband card software allows me to see stats, which display my current connection speed.  It’s not always the same from moment to moment.   An alternative method for independently checking your speed, is to visit Speedtest.net.

A map of the U.S. will be displayed on your screen.  It shows several locations of Internet servers. Pick  the one nearest you and wait while the site runs its test.   You will notice a graphic resembling a car’s control panel, with an odometer that revs up and down as your top speed is tested. The first test finds out how fast data is being downloaded to your computer, and the second test tells how fast you can upload information.

When I tested my broadband card it showed I was downloading information at 721 kilabytes per second.  I did the test again later that day and learned my laptop was connecting at 921 kbps. This is a much better rate than what I had when I used dial-up to get online, which connected at 28 kpbs most of the time.

Uploading speeds were closer to 228 kbps.  You may only be concerned about this if you plan to upload pictures, videos, or large files, but it’s good information to know.

So, if you’re like me and you always want to know how fast things will go, this is one method that works pretty well and it’s easy to do and doesn’t cost a dime.