FCC asks Americans to use FCC Speed Test app to measure U.S. broadband availability

The FCC is asking Americans to use the FCC Speed Test app to measure U.S. broadband availability as part of the Measuring Broadband America Program. In order to better determine where high speed internet services are currently unavailable in the U.S., the FCC needs precise, accurate, and up-to-date broadband mapping data.

The FCC’s Broadband Data Task Force is developing the necessary tools in a complex, data-driven effort that will involve building new systems and processes to gather this information.

These new tools will enable the FCC to create maps that display fixed broadband availability for individual locations and mobile broadband availability with more accuracy. The program will also provide a way for consumers, as well as tribal, state, and local governments, to challenge and improve the accuracy of the maps by sharing data with the FCC. More accurate maps will enable broadband funding programs to target support for broadband services to the areas most in need.

U.S. FCC:

You can test the performance of your mobile and in-home broadband networks by downloading the FCC’s Speed Test Application on your mobile device(s). In addition to showing your network performance test results, the app also provides the test results to the FCC as part of our Measuring Broadband America Program. The program gathers crowdsourced data on broadband network performance across the United States.

The information collected through the app will help to inform the FCC’s efforts to provide improved coverage information to the public. We expect that some of the information collected through the app will be incorporated into the Commission’s broadband data collection systems, including challenges to provider-submitted maps and our collection of additional crowdsourced data. As these new capabilities become available, app users may be asked to update or reinstall a new version of the app and to provide additional information and consents that will allow us to collect more precise speed test and location data for potential uses in developing our public maps.

MacDailyNews Take: The FCC Speed Test App is available in the Apple App Store here.

The FCC’s Privacy Policy states:

The FCC has taken significant measures to ensure the privacy and confidentiality of volunteers for this program. All data is collected anonymously, and no personally-identifiable information is collected. Using privacy measures developed and reviewed by officials at the US Federal Trade Commission and academic privacy experts, any data that could potentially identify specific smartphones is analyzed and processed to ensure that subscribers’ privacy interests are protected. The FCC is committed to ensuring that only network data is collected.