Netflix launches Fast.com, a tool to measure your Internet speed
Using its own servers, Netflix measures your personal mobile or broadband connection to help determine the quality of your stream.
The Internet connection at CNET's San Francisco offices isn't bad.
Got a need for speed? Netflix feels your pain, Mav.
That's why the video-streaming service on Wednesday announced the launch of Fast.com, a free website that measures how fast (or slow) your mobile or broadband connection is. Similar to other speed measurement tools available on the Internet, Fast.com uses Netflix's own servers to measure your personal Internet connection, whether you are at home or on the go, regardless of which country you happen to be in.
"We all want a faster, better Internet, yet Internet speeds vary greatly and can be affected by other users on your network or congestion with your Internet service provider," David Fullagar, vice president of content delivery architecture, wrote in a blog post. "Like the cellular data controls we recently introduced, Fast.com is another tool consumers can use for greater insight and control of their Internet service."
The tool's launch comes a couple of months after the popular streaming-video service admitted it had been slowing its video transmission on wireless carriers around the world, including Verizon and AT&T, for the last five years to "protect consumers from exceeding mobile data caps."