Speedtest test

Virgin Media has issued the first set of results of their testing of the speedtesters, and they don't look good for the majority of the speedtest sites.

They have found that most sites are not capable of measuring 50Mb speeds accurately - which will be more important as the company rolls out the service - and even that they're not capable in the main of measuring 20Mb speeds.

The company's group strategy director Jon James said:

"Most speed testing sites are not accurately measuring the new generation of high speed broadband services offering 20Mb and above - so there is a real risk that customers are being misled.

Our testing of 10 major speed-testing sites found only one accurately measured our upcoming 50Mb service, and only two accurately reporting on our 20Mb service.

The various speed test sites are now collaborating with us to improve standards to ensure consumers are able to make well-informed choices, however our results show there is still a long way to go."

And now we know the one site that was any good - ThinkBroadband, as trumpeted by them:

"We are pleased that Virgin Media has carried out its own rigorous tests on our speed tester and we hope it will give consumers extra confidence in the accuracy and performance that our speed tester provides. We invite both consumers and broadband providers to use our speed tester as it will give people with fast broadband connections a reliable indication of their broadband speed. While we are confident that we can cope with measuring the current range of broadband speeds, we are not going to stop here, but continue to develop the tester and upgrade the platform in the hope that one day people will have affordable access to connections faster than 100Meg. Virgin Media is setting a gold standard by highlighting its 50 Meg package - let’s hope other providers will also keep up with technology."

Anonymised results of the speedtesters show just how bad some of them are:
The sites tested were, in no particular order:

• Speedtest.net (London)
• Speedtest.net (Maidenhead)
• Broadband.co.uk
• Broadband-Expert.co.uk
• ISPreview.co.uk
• BroadbandChoices.co.uk
• BroadbandWatchdog.co.uk
• BroadbandSpeedChecker.co.uk
• Thinkbroadband.com
• BroadbandGenie.co.uk

Ofcom's favourite speedtest experts SamKnows are in agreement with Virgin Media's work.

Spokesman Richard Shaw said:

"SamKnows shares Virgin Media's desire to improve industry standards relating to broadband performance.

Accurate information is essential for consumers looking to get a service that suits their needs - be it a casual surfer, a heavy user, or many people sharing a single home connection. SamKnows agrees with Virgin Media, that while web-based speed-testers are a useful tool, there is still some way to go."

Hopefully this will spur the speedtest sites into action in upgrading their infrastructure, increasing their file payloads, updating their software and more.