Ookla test servers are hosted by partner organizations, including ISPs, which typically host the servers within their networks. The technical nuances are beyond the scope of this guide, but it is worth providing a high level overview of these differences.įirst, they have different platform topologies, which determine where the server providing the speed is located relative to the device where the test is initiated. As a result, they technically don’t measure the same thing. Ookla’s Speedtest and and MLab’s Network Diagnostic Tool (NDT) both provide speed, latency, and other metrics, but use different methodologies in their measurements. Their tests operate on different methodologies The Ookla and MLab platforms differ in several key ways.

Several of these limitations are addressed in the efforts run by local entities, which we’ll discuss later. There are several limitations and considerations that anyone seeking to draw conclusions from aggregated speed test data should keep in mind. When analyzing aggregate data, it is critical to identify what questions you are trying to answer and then whether a particular dataset is suitable for answering those questions. Ookla’s data is made publicly available through the Registry of Open Data on AWS aggregated and provided in Shapefile or Apache Parquet format through their Ookla for Good program and more detailed data can be licensed through their Speed Test Intelligence service. M-Lab’s data is made publicly available for free via Google’s BigQuery tool. These datasets have become a widely used tool for gaining insight into the availability and performance of broadband service and have been incorporated into various tools, such as NTIA’s Indicators of Broadband Need and the i3 Connectivity Explorer. As a result they each have large datasets that are available for local leaders, policymakers, researchers, Internet users and others that are working toward more inclusive broadband deployment, adoption, and use. Measurement Lab (MLab) and Ookla are two of the most commonly used tools for measuring the speed and performance of broadband connections. Network Performance Measurements – Speed Test Datasets The Assessing Available Datasets series, will provide descriptions of key considerations to keep in mind when using a dataset.

The Community Broadband Mapping Toolkit is a series of guides and recommendations provided by the National Broadband Mapping Coalition for states, localities, tribes, territories, and third-parties embarking on their own broadband and digital equity data collection process.īefore undertaking any data collection efforts, there are various existing datasets that any community should be aware of.

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