FCC is Recruiting Volunteers to Test Actual Broadband Speeds

 

Dave Vorhaus, FCC's Expert Advisor, Economic Opportunity, needs 10,000 volunteers to help conducting a scientific, hardware-based (a special Netgear router to be installed at home) test of actual broadband speeds and performance delivered by ISPs to consumers’ homes.

FCC selected SamKnows to conduct the test (Ofcom, the UK regulator is using the same company - here).

More details on the FCC blog - here.  To join - here.

In parallel, an FCC survey finds that "4 Out of 5 Americans Don't Know Their Broadband Speeds" (press release - here, survey - here).

Defining "Speed" could be tricky (is the the bit-rate of the link or the throughout when downloading a file?).

The survey found that "In spite of the fact that few broadband users know the specifics of their connection speed, 71% of broadband users believe that their connection speed at home is as fast as the provider promises at least most of the time. Some 24% of broadband users say they “always” receive the promised speed and another 47% say they receive the promised speed “most of the time.” This leaves one quarter (25%) of broadband users who say they receive the promised download speed some of the time or less frequently."

Nevertheless, "Most Americans are satisfied with the broadband speed they are getting. Fully 91 percent of broadband users say they are “very” or “somewhat” satisfied with the speed they get at home. The comparable number for mobile broadband, which is not yet technologically capable of the same speeds as home broadband, is 71 percent satisfaction. As a point of comparison, 92 percent of cell phone users are very or somewhat satisfied with their cell phone service overall."

Anyway - the new test could clarify all that. Good luck, Dave!