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Testing Broadband Speeds

June 21st, 2010 by Joel Gurin - Chief of the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau

Here at the FCC, we've been working lately on new ways to measure broadband speed and help consumers understand it. We believe that consumers deserve to know what broadband speeds they need for different applications, from email to gaming; what the advertised speeds really mean; and whether they can be sure they're getting the speeds that are advertised. To that end, the FCC is partnering with SamKnows to conduct the first scientific, hardware-based test of broadband performance in America. To help us improve broadband quality in the U.S., volunteer at TestMyISP.com to sign up for this landmark test. The video below explains how it works and how you can get involved.
 


 View Transcript

Cross-posted on The Official FCC Blog.

4 Responses to “Testing Broadband Speeds”

  1. Matt says:
    July 08 2010 at 12:49 AM

    How does the National Broadband Plan address Net Neutrality?

  2. Guest says:
    June 24 2010 at 12:43 PM

    Where is the closed captions???

  3. Former Volunteer says:
    October 22 2010 at 11:39 AM

    I've just asked for information on how to send my "white box" (which is actually black) back to where it came from. I never could get it to work and I got tired of the condescending tech no-support person. I've learned a few things in life, and one of them is to NEVER make a VOLUNTEER angry for no apparent reason. I was assured along the way that it was only me that had encountered installation problems. I was also told that a certain mega ISP's engineers had helped with the project. This would be the very ISP that has in three years never provided me with DSL in rainy or hot weather and at frequent other random times - how convenient having them involved. I respect the intentions here, but here in the trenches something smells terribly badly.

  4. Program Quitter says:
    October 21 2010 at 5:22 PM

    I signed up for the TestMyISP program but it was a complete waste of time. There were no useful setup instructions, no tech support and the box did not appear to work at all. Then again, I'm just an Electrical Engineer, what do I know. I was more or less told that no one else had experienced difficulties and that it "should work". Gotta love big government - sorry, guys, but this program is a waste of time and effort and taxpayer money.

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