Launched in 2007, Speedtest.net emerged as the most reliable service to check one’s connection speed. The service provides an unmatched speed analysis application on an interactive flash page.

Ookla, the company behind Speedtest has recently made all speed test results available to the public. Ookla claims that it has been compiling those query results which amount to 1.5 Billion now. Up until now, the data was available through individual agreements. This is about to change and the data will now be available for free usage.

Ookla has made this release hoping that it will help ISPs, governments and website administrators take decisive steps. For example, network pockets with better speed and throughput can be identified and they can be used to reduce loads elsewhere.

It is said that any internet user is always within 300 miles of an Ookla server. That makes them an authority in usage tracking.

Now that the service has a stronghold, Ookla is planning to collect user feedback on broadband. It will ask users about broadband charges and usage limits and identify the cost per MB of data worldwide. It will also collect postal code for even more accurate benchmarking of worldwide broadband usage.

This is an excellent move by Ookla and will benefit the Internet at large.

(Source)