The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is urging the public to download and use its Speed Test app so the agency can gain a clearer picture of the internet speeds consumers actually experience.
Regulatory data often fails to reflect real-world conditions. For example, the FCC’s broadband coverage maps have been criticized for inaccuracies. Advocates say those maps can misrepresent where service exists because the agency’s definition of coverage lets providers overstate their reach.
At a Senate hearing in September 2019, former FCC Chairman Ajit Pai acknowledged the challenge: “There are only two ways to thread this needle. Either, number one, the FCC hires thousands and thousands of people to go out into the country and verify, or, we have to rely on the information we get from the outside.”
Since sending teams across the country to verify coverage is not practical, the FCC must rely on external sources of data.
Encouraging more people to use tools like the Speed Test app helps the FCC improve the quality of external information by adding real-world measurements from unbiased users.
Acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said the agency is working to build a “comprehensive, user-friendly dataset on broadband availability.” She added that expanding the number of consumers using the FCC Speed Test app will improve publicly available coverage information and enhance measurement tools that show where broadband truly exists across the United States.
Beyond helping the FCC, the Speed Test app gives consumers direct insight into how their broadband connection performs. The app transmits anonymized test results to the agency for analysis.
According to an FCC Q&A, the Speed Test mobile application helps the agency meet a Congressional requirement to collect and share free, open, and transparent information about mobile broadband performance nationwide. The FCC notes that some private speed-test services do not disclose their data collection methods, may charge for broad data access, or may not reveal measurement details.
The FCC states that data submitted through the app is anonymized and that user privacy and confidentiality are protected. Collected measurements may be used to verify or challenge provider-submitted coverage claims where appropriate.
Broadband access has taken on growing national importance. Recently, the Biden administration called broadband “the new electricity” and included universal connectivity goals in a major infrastructure proposal.
(Image Credit: Chris Liverani on Unsplash)
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