Aku Dan X...: What's your broadband speed???

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Monday, April 6, 2009

What's your broadband speed???

Surprise...surprise... The only valid answer to that question is nobody knows for sure. It's all heavily depends on what type your PC is, modem conditions, telephone line or signals conditions, server conditions, and what your PC is actually doing - downloading or playing videos and many other factors. So, the best thing we can do is to have a basic idea of what our broadband speed is. Guessing is not the option, since we can some what measure its speed by using some tools available FOR FREE in the Internet nowadays. I've come across 3 good, almost reliable tools just to do that.

To make things fair for each test, I have no download, video watching, mp3 playing, or any game running while performing each test. The test was done consecutively one after another, so that they are not performing downloads related to their speed measurement at the same time, thus making the results not reliable. The order in which the test was carried out is for me, irrelevant.

I'm testing on my TM's streamyx combo RM60/month package with ADVERTISED
Download Speed of 384kbps and Upload Speed of 128kbps. The test was conducted on Monday, 6th April 2009 at around 5 am local time - to avoid heavy traffics.

1 - P1 speed test result.

Here is my P1 result. Who dares says our local telecom power house can't fulfill its promises after seeing this result??? TM will definitely smiles upon seeing this result. It was spot on. Its customers will also relieved that they got what they paid for - finally. But, as I said earlier, the speed is not a fixed one, and it fluctuate - a lot.

I do download a lot, but wonders what's the use for the upload speed, when I'm not uploading anything to the Net.

>>> You can test your broadband speed via P1 by clicking here.

2- Celcom broadband speed test result.

Recently I got friends complaining about the broadband service offered by Celcom. The speed was so poor that they can't even chat via Yahoo Messengger or any other chat clients, let alone video watching via YouTube. A close virtual friend of mine goes even further re-branding the broadband as "beruk-band" or directly translated as the monkey-band. Mainly I guess, because its speed and availability fluctuate so much like a monkey leaping happily from branch to branch. Hehehe... A bad publicity is still a publicity - a free one ;)

Well, as any other mobile companies like Digi or Maxis, the wireless broadband heavily depends on the signal it get from its local mobile bases. Like the famous property mantra - "Location, location, location". In this wireless broadband case, it's "Location, location, location - and conditions". I wonder - can you get a decent wireless broadband when heavy thunderstorm - like the one that hit Sepang International Circuit during the Formula 1 race yesterday?

The great thing about this speed test is the fact that it is so spot-on, Celcom has the guts to label their own speedometer was so accurate unlike any other. I quote this from the FAQ :
In comparison to other speedometers freely available in the Internet, Celcom guarantees that the speed measured by Celcom's speedometer is accurate. Any complaints regarding Celcom Broadband will be based on the readings from Celcom's speedometer only.
So for those using Celcom broadband must be fully aware about this tool, and use it to complain should their broadband was so terrible.

>>> You can test your broadband speed via Celcom broadband by clicking here.

3- speedtest.net result.

This is a global speedometer. The web page was recently redesigned. I remembered using this tool immediately after I got my Streamyx up and running back in January.

The best thing about this tool is unlike the two locally hosted speedometer - you can pick any server available to conduct your test. For me, I will pick the recommended server each time I test my speed, as the IP (the one printed as 60.53.110.145 on these pictures) for my connection is not a fixed one. The results obtained can be dramatically varied each time you perform the test, but you will get an idea of how fast or slow your connection is.

>>> You can test your broadband speed via speedtest.net by clicking here.

2 comments :

  1. Hi

    Thanks for your information. I just visited your website for speed test. But i am sorry its not accurate result so i found the free speed test @ free-speed-test.

    ReplyDelete
  2. TQ anu for the comment. As stated early in my writing, nobody knows for sure what is the speed of our broadband connection at a given time. There are so many factors dictates its speed. These tools are simply a good indicator. Unless you use Celcom Broadband, then you can use the Celcom's test to make a formal complaint about its speed. BTW, the link you give is a MINI version of speedtest.net which i've covered in my blog. TQ anyway ;)

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