When comparing broadband tariffs, it’s most often the download speeds that are advertised. Almost everything you do on the internet requires you to download data, so this is an important number to take into consideration. What is download speed?ĭownload speed refers to how long it takes to download data to your device from an external source, measured in megabits (Mb) or megabits per second (Mbps). You may also see it when gaming - if your ping is high while playing online, you often receive an error message with a warning and could result in slow load times and lag. Ping is mainly seen when you conduct a broadband speed test. They’re advertised by providers to show how fast your internet could be and entice customers with high potential speeds (it’s likely that a lot of people won’t get the high speeds advertised). The most likely place that you will see ‘upload speed’ and ‘download speed’ will be when you’re comparing broadband providers and tariffs. You’ll see them each in different places under different circumstances but all three should be taken into consideration when testing your broadband speeds.

‘Upload speed’, ‘download speed’, and ‘ping’ are all terms used to convey internet speeds. As always, we’ve got you covered! Where might you see these terms? In this guide, we’re going to look at ‘download speed’, ‘upload speed’, and ‘ping’ to help you understand what these terms mean and why they’re so useful. Whether you’re comparing broadband providers or conducting a speed test, you’ll probably find a few technical terms come up that you haven’t heard of.

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What is a download speed