Windstream Broadband bandwidth test simply determines the time it takes to download a 4.2 MB file from our servers. The term "bandwidth" refers to the rate of data transfer. The term speed is often used synonymously with data rate. You will often see bandwidth and transfer speed quoted in two different units: kilobits per second, abbreviated kbps or Kb/s, and kilobytes per second, abbreviated KB/s. The difference between the two units is the number of bits in a byte, which is 8. The small 'b' stands for bits, and the big 'B' stands for bytes. Transfer speeds are often shown in KB/s, and connect speeds are usually quoted in Kb/s.

Many elements can effect your downstream Broadband speed such as an older computer, resources, security software, spyware and viruses. To achieve accurate results you may have to perform this test multiple times before concluding your Broadband speed is not performing at it's optimal rate.

The Internet changes from one moment to the next in ways that are impossible to predict. You cannot expect to see the same bandwidth value every time you measure it. Furthermore, you cannot expect to see the full nominal speed of your connection for your bandwidth measurement. Most DSL/Cable connections will perform at their best during off-peak hours such as the morning and afternoon. You should expect latency during the mid-evenings simply because the network may become congested due to high Internet traffic. You should consider 65% of your provisioned Broadband speed to be normal operation.

Before you start the Broadband Bandwidth Test please close all Peer-2-Peer Networking Programs, Firewall Security Centers and any other Internet related software or browsers. Click Start Test, to begin.