The test is conducted by Google’s Measurement Lab, and anyone can use it by going direct to the tool.
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The help document for this speed test is over here. It relies on Measurement Lab for performing the tests.
You might wonder why Google doesn’t simply run the speed test straight off the bat in the same way that it shows instant answers for, say, weather- or time-based searches. To double check the internet speed, a lot of us search the phrase “speed test” on Google.
Finally waking up to the fact, the Mountain View company is reportedly trialing its own internet speed service, embedding it at the top of relevant search inquiries. As the tool doesn’t seem to have rolled out in India, we could not test it out ourselves.
I personally cannot replicate this speed test widget but you can try for [check internet speed] or other variations of that query in Google.
This development was first spotted by Dr. Pete Meyers, who even tweeted a screenshot of the search result.
As per the image shared by him, Google internet speed test will consume less than 40MB of data and will check your internet speed in less than 30 seconds. On its support page it says U.S. -based users are likely to use about 9.4MB. “M-Lab makes this information publicly available to advance Internet research”.
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It remains to be seen just how Google’s speed test tool will perform or how accurate it will prove to be, but the prospect is exciting nonetheless.
