Early Results from the FCC’s Broadband Tests
Posted by Jesse Ward on Monday, March 22, 2010 · 
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Six days after the FCC launched its broadband speed tests, the commission provided a glimpse into the data it has collected thus far. According to a blog post by the FCC’s Jordan Usdan, more than 150,000 unique users have taken over 300,000 consumer broadband tests, and submitted nearly 4,000 addresses to the Broadband Dead Zone Report – which, just like it sounds, are sites where the consumer has reported lack of broadband access.
About 87% of test takers are home users, which is the FCC’s target audience with this application. Additionally, a clear trend is visible: high bandwidth for larger businesses and community institutions, low bandwidth for mobile connections. (More data is available on the blog posting, including state-by-state information.)
Udsan also took this opportunity to remind us that this is a beta application, and these unscientific, software-based tests will not be used to form policy decisions. He writes: “Although software based testing cannot provide users with a 100% reliable measures of broadband quality, the FCC makes these tools available as they provide comparative and relative real-time performance information and helps the FCC collect broadband availability data.”
Instead, the FCC is planning a separate, hardware-based, scientific study of broadband quality across the country. On Friday, the commission asked for bids on a contract to measure broadband performance in roughly 10,000 homes nationwide. The contract would likely involve installation of a measurement device in the homes of volunteers to help identify how different networks and technologies perform at different times of day, across different parts of the network, under different conditions and using different testing methods.
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I disagree with the statement from Usdan that “…sofwtware based testing…helps the FCC collect broadband availability data.” These speed tests do no such thing.
What it DOES provide is the collection of broadband “SUBSCRIPTION” data. It has nothing to do with “availability”, which is the perception that this article gives.
Just because a consumer does a speed test and only gets 512k speeds does not mean that same consumer has subscribed to a faster Internet speed package from their ISP. The ISP may indeed have 10Mg/sec download speeds available, but the consumer CHOOSES to only subscribe to a 512k speed package.
It’s good to see the the FCC will be doing a separate scientific study of broadband across the country. But if that’s the case, why waste our time with the current “speedtest” survey???
Great point, Mikey.
In regards to the FCC’s purpose behind this initiative — personally I think this software-based non-scientific study is an attempt to change its public perception. The FCC has been criticized for relying too heavily on outside data which may not offer a complete and accurate picture, instead of collecting its own information about broadband availability and speed. I think the speed test, which the commission could quickly launch online, was an attempt to placate the critics.