FCC Asks Public to Use Its Internet Speed Test App

Peter_Brosdahl

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Image: FCC



The FCC is encouraging people to use its internet speed test app so it can collect more accurate data for broadband deployment as part of its Measuring Broadband America program. According to the agency, user’s privacy and confidentiality will be protected. Released in 2013, it reports on data usage, latency, packet loss, speed, and includes a data limiter. The app is available on Google Play and the Apple App Store. The app reports speed metrics comparable to apps such as Ookla.



Image: FCC



“To close the gap between...
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Looks like we all have the same thought about us, the PC Master Race, not being able to run the test on our über systems.

Seems weird they want to force wifi/cellular and dont care about physical networks, cable, dsl, fiber, etc.
 
Millions of Americans rely on their phones for Internet access.

It's income based, naturally. Remote learning wasn't a thing in certain 'hoods.
 
Auer said:
Millions of Americans rely on their phones for Internet access.

It's income based, naturally. Remote learning wasn't a thing in certain 'hoods.
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The outcome of this 'forced' experiment is something I'm looking forward to, because it's something that us techies might just be able to step up and help our neighbors fix. I'm not above finding creative fixes to make sure kids at least have access to education that's being provided free of charge!
 
Peter_Brosdahl said:
Yeah, I thought so too. Ajit is gone from the FCC but it seems like they're still focused on Mobile for broadband. Still, there's a lot of us who like keeping things wired.
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Yeah, I use mobile data the way it was intended. Temporary light use only when on the go.

Wifi in the house is used only for laptops and phones, and those are not priority devices. I do as much as I can on hardwired desktops.

I try to minimize the use of wireless nonsense as much as possible.


That said, the majority of people don't care. They only want wireless technologies. Heck, they don't even know the difference between "wifi" and "internet" at this point.
 
Zarathustra said:
So, how are they going to separate actual network performance from the impacts of poor Wifi and ****ty devices?

It would seem like this data would be pretty dirty.
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Broad strokes.

I'd bet that there'd be enough data that they'd get what they need regardless.

If no one in a particular area has fast internet, that should stand out, same as if everyone has fast internet.
 
LazyGamer said:
Broad strokes.

I'd bet that there'd be enough data that they'd get what they need regardless.

If no one in a particular area has fast internet, that should stand out, same as if everyone has fast internet.
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I think my biggest hangup is that use of this app more or less condones Cellular being classified as "Broadband".

Sure, it's internet service. But if it's significantly capped, it hardly should be considered broadband.

There's more than just peak speed to consider. Latency and data caps play a huge role in how useful a service is.
 
Just wait until people start raising hell because the FCC app continues to run intermittently eating into their cellular data plans data use. Yea that will be golden for sure.

I had this installed for 3 days... realized it was doing a bunch of useless to me data collection at my cost and uninstalled that **** post haste.
 
Brian_B said:
I think my biggest hangup is that use of this app more or less condones Cellular being classified as "Broadband".

Sure, it's internet service. But if it's significantly capped, it hardly should be considered broadband.

There's more than just peak speed to consider. Latency and data caps play a huge role in how useful a service is.
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Very good points!

Yeah, capped cell service is fine for a lot of communications, I rarely went over 1GB for many years. But for streaming video, whether for consumption or two-way communication i.e. school, you might as well bite that 'unlimited' bullet. And that's not an easy ask for a lot of folks!
 
Brian_B said:
I think my biggest hangup is that use of this app more or less condones Cellular being classified as "Broadband".

Sure, it's internet service. But if it's significantly capped, it hardly should be considered broadband.

There's more than just peak speed to consider. Latency and data caps play a huge role in how useful a service is.
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I've been saying the same for years now. I'm not positive if it started before but I first heard of it being classified as such during Ajit's term.
 
LazyGamer said:
Very good points!

Yeah, capped cell service is fine for a lot of communications, I rarely went over 1GB for many years. But for streaming video, whether for consumption or two-way communication i.e. school, you might as well bite that 'unlimited' bullet. And that's not an easy ask for a lot of folks!
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. . .and that unlimited usually has fine print too. . .it's not always as unlimited as it sounds.
 
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