How Can I Make Sure I'm Getting the Download Speeds I'm Paying For?

As I understand it, most internet service plans require you to pay for specific upload and download speeds. How can I ensure my internet provider is delivering on the speeds I'm paying for?

Sincerely,
Double Downloading

Dear DD,

Great (and timely) question, and one I'm sure we're all thinking a little bit about now that Google Fiber's insanely fast internet has us all a little jealous. Just last week the FCC revealed that most Internet Service Providers (ISPs) usually meet their advertised speed rates. Of course, just because most ISPs are delivering what they're advertising doesn't mean yours is. The basic process to test your download speeds is something anyone can do. The first step: we need to verify how much you're actually paying for.

Find Out the Speed You're Paying For

The first thing to do is check in with your ISP and see what speed you're paying for (if you don't already

know it). In some cases, all you need to do is look at your most recent bill and the download speed and upload speed will be listed on it.

However, some ISPs like to hide this information away a little. If your bill lists something like, "Blast Speed," or "Roadrunner," then that's the tier you pay for. The only way to figure out the speed you're paying for is to head over to your ISPs web site and search through their package options (here are some helpful links for Comcast, Time Warner, AT&T, Verizon, and Century Link).

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If you need a quick primer on what to look for, your connection speed will usually be something like, "Download speeds up to 20 Mbps and uploads up to 4 Mbps." Mbps means Megabit per second and refers to transfer speed. (Don't confuse Mbps with MBps, aka Megabytes per second. A MB is equal to 8 Megabits combined). Head over to Buddy Backup blog for a nice and simple breakdown of broadband speed terminology.

You should now have an idea of the internet speed you're paying for, so let's do a speed test. Photo by BuddyBackupBlog.

Do a Simple Speed Test

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The easiest way to do a speed test is with Speedtest.net (or at least it's our favorite tool for the job). All you need to do is click on the nearest testing area (usually the big green arrow), and click Begin Test. (For the most accurate test, make sure you're not downloading or uploading anything—for example, you may want to pause services like Dropbox.)

Let Speedtest run for a few seconds and you'll see your results. You'll see three different sets of numbers: Ping, Download Speed, and Upload Speed. The Ping is how long it takes for your data to make a round trip to the server, and we already know what the upload and download speeds mean.

Your download and upload speeds should be within about 1 or 2 Mbps as your advertised rate. If your speed test is a lot slower than what you're paying for—or, more importantly, you feel like certain types of downloads aren't fast—then it's time to check if your ISP is throttling you.

Source:  http://lifehacker.com/5929605/how-can-i-make-sure-im-getting-the-download-speeds-im-paying-for