How fast is my broadband?

If there are any terms on this site that you don't recognise visit our glossary of terms.

To get an accurate check of speed you should:

• make sure that you only have the computer you are testing accessing the internet
• not touch the keyboard or mouse while the test is running.

Speeds will vary according to the time of day, day of the week or other factors, so it's worth repeating the test to get the range of speeds you will receive.

What speed do I need?

It depends what you need it for:

• for browsing the web and accessing emails, 512Kb will probably be useable and 1Mb will give a reasonable experience
• for watching streamed video, for instance using BBC iPlayer, you will need at least 2Mb for a useable service and 3.5Mb for high definition.

My internet connection is slower then I expected

If your connection is slower than you expected find out how you can improve your internet speed in your home.