How much does "speed test" make sense?: MVNO's deep good story (page 1/3)
What are the points you care about when choosing a cheap SIM / MVNO?The monthly payment price, as well as the variations of the set sales device, and the enhancement of the point service may be the selection criterion.However, isn't the "communication speed" that attracts the most attention?
The fact that "the speed varies depending on the MVNO even if you use the same carrier equipment" has become much known compared to before.Many articles such as ITmedia Mobile, various media and personal blogs, are listed on which MVNO communication speed is fast.What is featured in these articles is the execution result of the "Speed Test App" that can be executed on a smartphone.Some of them are doing "fixed -point observation" in the speed test application for multiple MVNOs each month, and their efforts are down.
However, unfortunately, those articles include those who think "I'm sorry" from the standpoint of knowing the contents of MVNO.So, in this article, I would like to reconsider the speed test from the perspective of "evaluation of MVNO".
スピードテスト（通信速度の計測）にどれだけ意味があるのかを考えていきます 「MVNOの深イイ話」バックナンバーWhat is the speed test measured?
Several types of speed test apps are distributed, but all apps are generally the same.It is common to display "download speed" and "upload speed" and "ping value" (RTT / delay time).It is said that the higher the number, the higher the number, the better the ping value is.These numbers are calculated by actually communicating between the smartphone at hand and the speed test server installed on the Internet, and measuring the pattern.
The cause of the decrease in communication speed or worse ping value is the congestion of various communication equipment between the smartphone and the speed test server, and the deterioration of the radio wave condition.And there are various points where congestion occurs, even if it is congested.
The above figure lists elements that are likely to affect the results of the speed test.However, in fact, the three elements of "radio wave conditions", "base station congestion", and "congestion between carrier and MVNO connection (POI)" have a significant impact on measurement results, and other factors have a great effect.It doesn't seem to be given.
Therefore, in this article, I would like to focus on the above three points.
Examples of the speed test server affected the results
Famous speed test application "SPEEDTEST.Net provides test servers by various organizations (individuals).At the time of measurement, a server presumed to be "closest to the measurement point" is automatically selected.
However, in the fall of 2014, it seems that all servers that were in Japan were unable to use intermittently, and for some reason the server in Vladivostok (Russia) seemed to be used for measurement.Compared to a server in Japan, if measured on a server overseas, the communication speed tends to be slower, so the results of the speed test measured from Japan will also be worse.
It seems that there were a few people who did tests without noticing that, and when I was looking at Twitter, it seems that more people were tweeted, saying, "Is the speed slower than before?"I felt.
Elements that increase and lower the speed and their influence range
Let's look a little more detailed about the three factors that this time.
First, about the radio wave situation.The longer the distance between the base station and the smartphone, the weaker the radio wave.Also, even if the distance is close, it may be affected if there is another radio wave around.In such a case, the communication speed may decrease.
Next, about the congestion of the base station.This depends on the communication capacity of the base station itself and the radio waves used by the base station, depending on how many communication demands are in the area in charge of the base station.There are a variety of base stations, from high -capacity to low, and the radio waves used are different depending on the base station.In addition, the area of area that one base station is in charge of depends on the base station.Note that the congestion will change, not only if there are many or less people around you, but also to the area of the area depending on how many communication demands are available.Of course, if the demand is excessively demand for equipment, the communication speed will decrease.
Finally, we will discuss the congestion between the carrier and the MVNO connection point (POI).As mentioned in the article in ITmedia Mobile, recent MVNOs borrowed career facilities in "bandwidth".If the band borrowed from the carrier exceeds the demand of users, the communication speed will not decrease, but if there is no sufficient bandwidth for the demand, the communication speed.Will decrease.
The result of these elements affected is the "communication speed" displayed in the speed test.One of the most poor conditions in each element is the "bottleneck" and the upper limit of the communication speed is reduced.
By the way, these three elements have different effects on the communication speed.
As I wrote earlier, the radio wave situation is affected by the distance to the base station and the surrounding radio waves, so the situation varies depending on the location in the same area where one base station is in charge.In addition, if the base station is congestion, all smartphones in the area are uniformly influenced by the location.
And these two elements have an equal effect on carrier and MVNO using the same equipment.For example, questions that are crowded with base stations do not only reduce communication speed for specific MVNOs, but also lower communication speeds for other MVNOs and carriers themselves.
On the other hand, the decline in speed due to congestion between the carrier and the MVNO (POI) is different depending on the MVNO.This is because the POI connecting the carrier and the MVNO is divided into each MVNO.However, POI congestion does not occur depending on the area.This is because there are one or two facilities nationwide connecting carriers and MVNOs, and all communications performed at base stations nationwide flow there.
As mentioned in the previous article, how to prepare the bandwidth you borrow from your career is the most important point in the MVNO business, and the borrowing policy differs for each company.What appears noticeable is the speed decrease due to POI congestion.
So, if you want to measure the "ability" of MVNO by speed test, you must measure so that POI congestion can be compared.
If the carrier is different, the facilities are different
Many Japanese MVNOs borrow NTT DOCOMO facilities, but some MVNOs, including mineo (A plan) and UQ Mobile, borrow au facilities.DOCOMO and au have different base stations and radio waves used, so the radio waves are different in the same place.In addition, the congestion of the base station is different.For this reason, when comparing MVNOs that use docomo equipment and MVNOs that use au equipment, not only the connection point (POI) with MVNO, but also the difference between the DOCOMO and au facilities is the result of the speed test.You need to be aware that it is affecting.
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