FCC Releases Internet Speed Test Tool

[rhino13]

Yo, who's making the changes in the FCC?
I like this guy!

 

[RabidFace]

I don't see how this is going to accomplish a whole lot.

There are other factors that can hinder your bandwidth speed, such as:

*Operating System
*Processor Speed
*RAM
*A clean system (or lack there of; from virus's, spyware, registry, corrupt system files, etc.)
*Routers and switches (and multiple people on a network)

I actually have a personal experience when I took Vista off this laptop and put XP on. Vista was giving me my full FiOS speed on speedtest.net (because of the new network API) Then, after I installed XP, my performance was hindered.

I guess we can only wait and see what happens with the FCC getting there "dirty little hands" in this.

 

[mr_tuel]

So why are they asking for my address?

 

[RabidFace]

Also, I forgot to add your browser to that list.

Your browser can be a HUGE factor in speed tests online.

 

[Gin Fushicho]

Sweet , I support this. =3

 

[warmon6]

[citation][nom]touchdowntexas13[/nom]How come when I click on the "show" button, it never works anymore?I've noticed this since a few days ago. Maybe there has already been a discussion about it?I've tried it on both firefox and IE and both browsers have the same problem.Sorry to post off-topic, but this is bugging me.[/citation]

Same here. No matter what browser (IE, firefox, chrome) and OS combo (xp, vista, and 7) i use, the show button doesn't work. have to go to the forums to see the hidden comments.

 

[tipmen]

Mine tested out okay on both speedtest and this FCC site.

 

[blackened144]

[citation][nom]gh0st[/nom]This is more or less targeting ISP's that are getting away with "financial rape of the consumer". e.g AT&T , ComcastI think it's great if they are making a public statement to these companies and or, are proving their findings to back a case against the overcharging giants.[/citation]
I have Comcast and though their customer service blows, their internet and cable service rock. Im paying for 8mb and my newsgroup client tells me that I constantly download pegged at 8mb. I even see my speed spike around 24mb for the first 100MB with the TurboBoost feature.

 

[Guest]

What happens if I happen to have a faster than advertised speed, and upload that data? Will they slow down my internet? (btw, I don't have an internet connection now, so it's purely hypothetically speaking ofcourse...).

 

[Glorian]

Did both tests. and timewarner cable delivers faster than advertised, paying for a 15Mb connection but received 18.81 from speedtest and a 18.2 from fcc, however my upload was a tad bit lower than the 2Mb at 1.8 on both tests.

Good to see its doing great, I know back in college if I had done this with comcast I totally woulda been screwed.

 

[thegreathuntingdolphin]

already see a problem with it.
its speed isn't accurate.

http/www.speedtest.net/ shows me at 25mb down on various server. which is correct.

this test clocks on at 8. so they are gathering incorrect data?

Not necessarily. The FCC test was almost exactly the same as a test I did with speedtest and speakeasy/speedtest. It really depends on the server you chose. For example, if I chose the server Speedtest.net recommends, it is always way wrong. For a month it said I was getting less than 1 Mbps even though every other speedtesting website and monitoring my own downloads speeds said it was higher. I changed to another speedtest server and it is works correctly.

They want my address before I can even use the tool. I don't thinks so!
Their mission is very different than that which they have declared.

They want your address so they can see what actual speeds people are getting at specific locations. Increasing broadband speed and availability has been an important goal for a while. With this tool, the government can actually see how fast people are getting their service rather than relying on the ISPs to tell them or surveys. Also, they will probably share this information with state and local governments. There are a lot of exclusive deals made to companies if the company promises to bring new speeds or coverage. Many times the local government wants to know if the company is telling the truth and holding true to their part of the agreement. If not, local governments might fine or remove the exclusive agreement and let other companies come in.

 

[thegreathuntingdolphin]

I hope the FCC can use this data or it gives us more weight against our ISPs. I switched to AT&T (I know I know, I was forced to but at least I finally get consistent speed slightly over what I am paying for) because Knology (the worst ISP I have dealt with) was screwing me over. It will be nice to say you got the information from the FCC's speedtest; it gives it a bit more weight.

Knology is like Comcast or Charter only slower in speeds, slower in installation (it takes them weeks to come out for basic installs), and they are the same price yet offer less!

 

[matrixhemi]

What you guys fail to relize is that speakeasy and speedtest.net are paid by the ISP's to show that you are getting what you paid for when your not, trust me I work for comcast and i know this first hand, those speeds you see of 25 mbs and higher are crap. I have done mulitple test on the FCC websites and there test is dead on accurate, so YOU FAIL!!!

 

[knutjb]

There are a number of variables that impact speed so any number, high or low, may or may not be the ISP's fault. When I lived within 2 miles of my provider, and living around mostly much older people not stressing our branch, the generic plan provided me better results than friends with the spendy plan across town living in an apartment with a lot of younger users.

Sadly I live far from my provider and more users are piling on so my only real good time to use is very early in the am before school, late at night and weekends aren't bad but noticeably slower.

 

[JohnnyLucky]

I don't need another utility to tell me my Internet service is slow. The lag is a routine occurance around here. Its' been that way for quite a few years. Cox Cable is my ISP. They've got themselves covered in the fine print. It says you'll get high speed service only if it is available. In reality most of the time it is not.

 

[ZEPd3Z]

My connection is faster than the advertised speed.... well at least during the first year and a couple of months before the 1 year lock in period expires,but the rest of year it never goes up 80 percent the advertised speed. this is to get you to upgrade.

 

[neiroatopelcc]

Sounds like it's common in the us not to have access to the rated speed?
I've got a 50/50Mbit connection thru something called "Dansk Bredbånd" (local broadband provider). I've tested that up against speedtest.net's manchester server many times and always end up with more than the stated download and 9mbit upload (think the server I test against is limited). I usually get about 63Mbit downstream over my supposed 50Mbit connection - that's 25% more than I pay for. And I've measured upload speeds of up to 75Mbit to local danish speed testing sites (located at another isp in fact).

 

[Guest]

mlab and oklea tests are very inconsistent especially regarding jitter and latency (both just performed back to back)