Calculate Bandwidth

Learning how to calculate bandwidth is a very simple process that can make browsing the web and downloading files a much easier experience. Knowing how much bandwidth you have allows you to figure out approximately how large of a website you can host, how long files will take to transfer and what Internet settings provide the optimal experience.

Steps

  1. Figure out what kind of connection you have. Do you have a broadband connection? DSL? Dial-up? Each of these offers different speeds. A broadband connection usually has a 512 kilobytes/second speed or more (to give an idea of how fast that is, the average web page is about 70 kilobytes and an average song is about 3,000 kilobytes, or 3 megabytes).
  2. Run a speed test. There are several ways to do this:
    • Manually download a file from an email or from a trusted website. Watch the transfer speed and average the highest and lowest rates to find your average actual bandwidth.
    • Run an automated speed test using a site that pings (sends and receives packets of data) servers located in your country-preferably in your region. This is the easiest way to figure out your bandwidth as it is entirely automated. There is a variety of trusted websites that tell you how to calculate bandwidth, but one of the easiest is provided by CNET (the link is provided below). Simply click on your location and it does the rest for you.
  3. Call your Internet provider if all else fails. They will be able to provide all information you need about your Internet line, usage, download rates and potential caps.

Tips

  • A dial-up connection provides bandwidth of 56 kilobytes a second. A DSL line generally provides between 256 kilobytes a second to 512 kilobytes a second. Broadband Internet connections usually provide a megabyte (1000 kilobytes) a second or more. Knowing your basic connection type gives you a good start on figuring out how to calculate bandwidth.
  • Distance affects speed. If you are trying to access a server or webpage hosted in another country, your transfer speed will significantly decrease. Transfer speed is different from bandwidth. Bandwidth is possible speed of your connection while transfer speed is usually the used speed. You will almost never use all of your bandwidth, so don't be surprised when you have a 512k/second bandwidth but a 100k/second download speed.
  • Another good thing to check when figuring out how to calculate bandwidth is your Internet cap. Many places have caps of how much data you can use. Customers with very fast speeds can very easily exceed their cap, so knowing your bandwidth can help you limit your usage.

Warnings

  • Make sure your Firewall is active but not blocking access to the Internet. If you are having trouble accessing web pages or downloading files, check your computer first. Often the problem is with your firewall settings or virus software. Some bandwidth calculators also use Java or similar program-be alert to alerts notifying you of blocked pop-ups or asking you to allow ActiveX controls. If you trust the site, allow it-if not, go to another one. For best results, use one of the sites recommended here.

Things You'll Need

  • A computer with an active Internet connection.

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Sources and Citations

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