Every time you connect to the Internet with your device, there’s a lot going on to make that connection happen. Primarily, data is being sent back and forth between your device and the Internet service provider’s servers. You upload a video on Facebook, you sign in to Netflix to binge-watch your favorite show, you send an email to a friend — all of these things require data transmission, and the better your speeds are, the more efficiently you can make all these things happen. The PS LIGHTWAVE Speedtest page helps you keep tabs on just how well your connection is performing. Take a look at this helpful guide of FAQs to better understand the speedtest.
What is the difference between download and upload speeds?
In general terms, download speed is how fast information is transmitted from the Internet to your device. Upload speed, on the other hand, is how quickly the data is sent from the device to the Internet. The PS LIGHTWAVE Speedtest Page measures download and upload speeds in megabits of data per second, which is abbreviated to Mbps. Download speeds are important when you are streaming a movie, loading web pages or even listening to music. Upload speeds are most important when you are uploading something, such as a video on YouTube or a long document you are sending via email.
Why are symmetrical upload/download speeds important?
Symmetrical upload/download speeds are precisely what you would guess; the connection offers the same upload or download speed most of the time. More traditional Internet connections are asymmetrical, which means either upload or download speed will be substantially different from the other. Most often, download speeds will be higher than upload speeds. Finding a symmetrical connection is important for a few reasons:
- Symmetrical connections thwart problems with low upload speeds
- Symmetrical connections guarantee you stable interactions during processes that require both uploading and downloading, such as during a video conference
- Symmetrical connections are an ideal thing for modern Internet processes, such as accessing the cloud and uploading/downloading data from the cloud
Additionally, a symmetrical connection is not going to lead to issues with Internet bottleneck, which is when incoming and outgoing data get caught up because of a limited bandwidth size. Most of the time, Internet connections with symmetrical upload and download speeds have broader bandwidth to offer customers, so bottleneck issues simply do not happen as often.
Learn more about PS LIGHTWAVE’s bidirectional and full duplex bandwidth.
What is a good download or upload speed?
The Federal Communication Commission (FCC) states that download speeds of 25 Mbps meet minimum broadband thresholds. Therefore, this rate is considered a good speed, and anything more is even better. As far as upload speeds are concerned, they can be much lower and still be well-functioning. Upstream speeds of 3 Mbps are considered relatively good. Naturally, there are certain activities that are going to require greater speeds. For instance, you may normally be fine with 3 Mbps upload if you are playing an online game. However, you may need faster speeds if that game is live and tournament-style as the data would have to travel from your device to the server quickly so it would be quickly translated to the other player.
How can you use the PS LIGHTWAVE Speedtest page?
Using the PS LIGHTWAVE Speedtest page allows you to get a close look at how your connection is performing at any given moment. The test page yields results in a matter of seconds, so you can check out what your Internet is doing whenever you like. Having this information about your download and upload speeds tells you if your Internet connection is giving you what you are paying for. For example, if a provider is charging you so much per month for a guaranteed upload/download speed, you can check to see if that’s what you are getting.
PS LIGHTWAVE provides high-speed, fiber internet for public and private commercial entities in the Greater Houston and surrounding areas.
Through our high-quality infrastructure, innovative technology and expert, locally based support, we deliver not only the best in connectivity and reliability but in scalability and redundancy. We invite you to learn more about our services, our history and our dedicated team.
