Own Telstra (ASX:TLS) shares? Here's some not so good news

Telstra was beaten at its own game over the quarter just been

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Those invested in Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) shares might be disappointed to learn one of the company's key offerings is being bested by nearly all its competitors.

Telstra has wound up at the bottom of global internet testing company Ookla's quarterly Australian internet speed report.

Over the third quarter of the 2021 calendar year, Telstra's broadband internet was slower than that of Aussie Broadband Ltd (ASX: ABB), Optus, TPG Telecom Ltd (ASX: TPG) and its subsidiary iiNet, and Vodafone.

Telstra crowned slowest major internet provider

Internet service providerSpeed score
Aussie Broadband88.33
Optus59.81
iiNet58.20
TPG53.93
Vodafone52.70
Telstra49.00
Source: Ookla, table created by author

Telstra took out last place in the race between Australia's major broadband providers, with a speed score of just 49.

A speed score incorporates a provider's download and upload speed, weighted to the provider's fastest, slowest, and median speeds.

Interestingly, ASX newbie Aussie Broadband took out the top spot in all measured metrics.

Unfortunately for Telstra internet customers, the company's broadband came in as 1 of the 4 providers with 10 milliseconds of latency.

Latency is a way to measure how delayed an internet connection is.

Only 2 providers had less latency than Telstra over the 3 months ended September 30. Both Aussie Broadband and iiNet recorded 9 milliseconds of latency.

At least Telstra wasn't at the back of the pack when it came to consistency, although it was far from the best performer.

Ookla measured how often a telecommunications company could provide 25 megabits per second of downloads and 3 megabits per second of uploads.

Aussie Broadband once again topped the list with 85.7% consistency, while iiNet brought up the rear with 74.5%.

Telstra was firmly in the middle of the pack, having been able to provide the required performance 77% of the time.  

Telstra share price snapshot

At the time of writing, Telstra shares are$3.83, 1.03% lower than their previous close.

However, the price is 27% higher than it was at the start of 2021 and 34% higher than it was this time last year.

Motley Fool contributor Brooke Cooper has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia's parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Aussie Broadband Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Telstra Corporation Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Aussie Broadband Limited and TPG Telecom Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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