User Connection Speed - any way to calculate it - Webmaster General forum at WebmasterWorld

Forum Moderators: phranque

Message Too Old, No Replies

User Connection Speed - any way to calculate it

topr8

9:54 am on Aug 2, 2017 (gmt 0)

Just getting my head around this topic ...

essentially i've an image and video heavy website and i'm looking to possibly serve lower quality media to users on slow connections

... or more specifically to users who might be using their data allowance from their tablet/smartphone rather than being connected by wi-fi

so i've a couple of questions for anyone who knows this area better than me.

is it possible to detect/sniff connection speed and if so how would i start to go about it?
regarding data connection allowances - are these generally high enough now to be able to view videos without burning through the allowance.

or any other suggestion regarding this topic?

graeme_p

10:53 am on Aug 2, 2017 (gmt 0)

If you are talking about the UK, data allowances on mobile varies a LOT. There are all you can use packages (usually they do not allow tethering). On the other hand 5p or more a megabyte is not uncommon.

not2easy

2:42 pm on Aug 2, 2017 (gmt 0)

The visitor should be (or will soon be) aware of bandwidth limitations on their device/connection combination. I do notice that even in the AdSense UI Google offers a link to choose "Low Bandwidth" version. Rather than try to detect their settings/connection it might be an idea to offer visitors the option.