Internet connection performance assessment service Ookla’s Android app had a feature that showed you how different mobile carriers perform in your geographical area. Now, the feature has made its way to the iOS app, making it easier to identify zones where you won’t have the best mobile internet experience.
Ookla’s Speedtest maps essentially overlay a pixelated heatmap of cellular network strength in various areas of cities. The biggest advantage of the feature is the ability to get a realistic estimate of the connection speeds you can expect in the areas you frequently visit. It also paints a clear picture of how realistic the carriers’ claimed connection speeds are. Most mobile networks tend to advertise their fastest connection speeds, even if they aren’t available over a large geographic area.
To access the new Sppedtest maps on the Ookla app for iPhone, open the app and tap on the Maps tab. You should see one of the carrier names showing at the bottom. Wipe up on it to change the selected carrier and see the difference in the internet speeds they offer in your area.
Ookla explains there are three different ways people could use the new Speedtest maps:
- If you’re looking to use your brand-new 5G phone on an upcoming vacation, you can check the map to see if your operator had 5G service in that location.
- If you consistently find yourself dropping calls in the same spot on your daily walk, you can check our map to see if others who use the same provider are experiencing the same thing in the same area. Then you can take that information to your operator to ask them to improve service in that area.
- If you’re looking to change operators, you can check to see who has the kind of service you need in the locations you visit most often.
More Than Just Connection Speed
While the upload and download speeds are what affect the experience for most internet users, Ookla’s Speedtest map allows you to measure and see the variation of other parameters by location. For instance, gamers could assess the latency of various mobile carriers before deciding which network to choose for a new connection.
Latency is a measure of how long a server responds to your query on the internet. However, latency could increase drastically as your internet load rises. So, Ookla’s app shows you three different latency values:
- Idle Ping: this is the latency when there is no load on your network.
- Download Ping: This is the latency measured while a download is in progress. In the real world, this would be the latency you put up with while multiple large file downloads are underway in the background.
- Upload Ping: This is the latency measured during an upload test. You would experience its effects if you have a large cloud backup hogging your internet bandwidth in the background while you try to surf the internet.
➤ Download – Ookla Speedtest
[Via Ookla]
