The (FCC) Federal Communications Commission has released a new speed test application to help measure the speed of the Internet across the country, available on iOS and Android.
The FCC Speed Test application works with existing speed testing apps such as Ookla’s and Fast by Netflix, automatically collecting and displaying data after the user clicks the “Start Test” button. According to the FCC, the data collected through the application will inform the agency’s efforts to gather more accurate broadband speed information and support broadband deployment efforts.
“To close the gap amid poor and rich, we are working to create a comprehensive and easy-to-use data set on broadband availability,” executive chairman Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement Monday. “Expanding the base of customers who use the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Speed Test application will allow us to provide improved coverage data to the public and add to the measurement tools we are growing to show where broadband is truly open throughout the United States.”
The app is part of a more considerable agency effort to collect more accurate broadband speed data across the country. The FCC’s modern coverage maps built from self-reported data from internet service providers like Verizon and AT&T. In doing so, the process has allowed ISPs to increase their existing coverage, sharply criticized by proponents of broadband access.
Earlier this year, the FCC asked the public to verify the facts with ISP data by entering their addresses on existing broadband maps and submitting a form here if the information provided was incorrect.