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Call me old-fashioned, but if I’m paying for a 20mbps (megabits per second) home fibre line, I want to actually get that speed.

Sure, you can put it to the test by streaming on multiple devices and scrolling through social media on others at the same time, but that doesn’t really tell you if you’re getting bang for your buck.

For that, you turn to websites that offer free speed tests, like the aptly named Speedtest.

I’m sure you figured this out already, but you click the big ‘GO’ button and stay on the browser tab while the test runs to check both download and upload speeds.

The results aren’t a perfect science, so it’s worth checking a few times.

You can also make use of other sites offering the same service, like Speedcheck or the locally-based speedtest.co.za.

According to a recent statement by the Internet Service Providers’ Association of SA (ISPA), these speed tests are useful as rough guides:

An Internet speed test measures the connection speed – as well as the quality of the connected device – by running consecutive tests that analyse different aspects of the connection; including latency, download and upload speeds. This can be very useful for debugging problems, particularly when comparing historical results from the same device using the same connection. However, they can sometimes be misleading…

“Performing a speed test and then rating one’s satisfaction with an ISP based on the result does provide some information, but there are other considerations when selecting an ISP,” says ISPA chairperson, André van der Walt.

Van der Walt also recommends a quick Google search to find various consumer ratings of overall services.

Just last month, the MyBroadband ISP report for Q3 2021 found RSAWEB to be the top ISP in the country.

He also recommends searching any comments on neighbourhood social media and messaging groups and reaching out to any techie friends to ask who they use for Internet access.

I’d suggest you also keep an eye on the specials RSAWEB runs on home fibre, which are specific to the ISPs available in your area.

You simply enter your address when prompted and you can see what’s on offer, with home fibre starting from as little as R395 a month.

[source:techafrica]