2012 HPP Internet Service Provider Survey

[beejee]

Not all internet upload/download speed tests are created equal. There are speed tests where you download a file from Oahu on a more local network, and there are speed tests where you download a file from New York, New York (or wherever you choose) over trans-pacific cable connections. When you're surfing the web, clicking from link to link, you're hitting servers and downloading resources from all over the place. There are companies like Akamia that watch for what people do and download and try to cache the files regionally close to you. This sort of local regional caching really does help a lot. Honestly though, in my opinion, if you're interested in measuring the bandwidth you're going to see day-to-day, you're much better off running speed tests where you're downloading files from different locations on the mainland, not pulling files from Oahu and the local islands.

Cheers!