The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) is offering a new service that allows consumers to test the quality of their broadband Internet connection.
As part of the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) National Broadband Plan—a measure aimed at accelerating broadband deployment across the United States—results from this test will provide the FCC with important data revealing the discrepancy between actual and advertised broadband speeds.
Users can check their bandwidth—the rate at which data can be transmitted—and quickly determine the quality of their Internet connection. This test scrutinizes a broadband connection in a variety of ways, including both uploading and downloading speed, as well as the time it takes a file to make a round trip. The FCC plans to use the data collected from the test, combined with submitted street addresses, to analyze broadband quality and availability in various regions throughout the country.
The service is also designed to create awareness about the importance of broadband quality in accessing content and services over the Internet. Test users can participate in helping the FCC pinpoint areas of the country underserved by broadband access by submitting a Broadband Dead Zone Reporting Form. The FCC ensures user privacy by promising not to make individual street or IP addresses public.
This is the FCC’s first attempt at providing consumers real-time information about the quality of their connection, employing two broadband testing tools—the Ookla and M-Lab. Users are randomly assigned these testing tools or they may choose a preferred tool, although both work to test connections by transferring a small file from the user’s computer to a testing server. While these options represent the beta version of the service, the FCC plans to make additional testing applications available in the near future.
If you’re interested in participating in this test, or simply curious to check the quality of your connection go to http://www.broadband.gov/qualitytest/, or download the new FCC Broadband Test app in the Apple and Android App stores for free.
