Thanks to Ann Higgins for the heads up on the FCC’s new plan for gauging actual broadband. First they posted speed testers on their web site. (According to another Telecompetitor article, over 300K broadband tests have been completed on the site! In fact, “According to this data, the average download speed was 9.27 Mbps and the average upload speed was 2.83 Mbps.”)
Now they have hired a company to help track real speeds. They have hired a UK company called SamKnows. Here’s the news from Telecompetiror…
According to the SamKnows website, they’ve “…been awarded a ground breaking contract by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to begin a new project researching and collecting data on American fixed-line broadband speeds delivered by Internet Service Providers (ISPs) – until now, something that has never been undertaken in the USA.”
The author and at least one article commenter has wondered why the FCC has gone with a company in the UK. But another commenter has added…
“SamKnows UK will be licensing its technology without charge to a new American company which will be set-up, and based in Washington, specifically for this project. This new company will create new jobs for American workers, both in the short term and in the long term.”
Regardless, it’s good to see some steps moving forward to gauge real speeds. It is one of the goals from the National Broadband Plan.
