The FCC Wants You to Test Your Broadband Speeds

The FCC is asking the nation’s broadband and smartphone users to use their broadband testing tools to help the feds and consumers know what speeds are actually available, not just promised by the nations’ telecoms.

Starting Thursday, netizens can go to the FCC’s Broadband.gov site, enter their address and test their broadband speed using one of two testing tools. iPhone and Android users can go to their respective app stores and download the FCC’s first ever mobile app, which will report to the feds exactly how slow your connection actually is. The FCC is requiring the street address “it may use this data to analyze broadband quality and availability on a geographic basis.”

Broadband connection testing isn’t new, and is freely available online, but this might mark the first time that individual tests help to lead to informed policy making.

By Ryan Singel

Full Story: http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/03/fcc-broadband-test/