right w here m ost o f t he o nline s ervices a nd c onnectivity p roviders r un t heir s ystems. M oreover,
M-Lab h as a s cientific a pproach w ithout a ny c ommercial b ias.
Other I nternet s peed t ests y ou m ay f ind o nline, t ypically m easure t he s peed b etween y ou a nd
the s ervice p rovider's n etwork. W e c all t his a pproach a " last m ile" t est. I t i s a v alid a pproach t o
verify t hat y our p rovider i s h onoring t he s peed p romised i n y our c ontract. B ut i t d oesn't t ell t he
whole s tory o n h ow f ast y ou c an w atch m ovies, s end l arge a ttachments o r m ake H D v ideo c alls
with y our g randchildren ( or n ieces), b ecause t hese s ervices a re t ypically o utside t he n etwork o f
your I nternet p rovider ( think s ending a p ackage o n t he o ther s ide o f t he w orld: y ou s hip i t a t t he
local p ost o ffice b ut t he P ostal S ervice w ill c hoose s omeone e lse t o d eliver i t o utside o f t he
country. H ow g ood i s t his s omeone? A nd w hat d elivery s peed c lass h as b een a sked b y t he
Postal S ervice?)
With t his F ingbox t est y ou'll f ind o ut i f y our I nternet p rovider i s s elling y ou a 1 00 M bit/s " last m ile"
connection, b ut t akes y ou t o t he I nternet b ackbone w ith l ess ( very, v ery c ommon, e specially
during p rime t ime, b ecause t o b e e conomically v iable, t he s ervice p rovider a pplies s ome d egree
of " overbooking" t o t he e xpensive B ig I nternet c onnection).
User's G uide - A pp v 6.2.1
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