9 ms·

Download the FCC Speed Test App

91 points by gscott 6y ago

Zhenya 6y ago
US Government app on my personal device that's meant to move data? No thanks. Here are the permissions for the Android App (including location, storage access, and starting on boot) -Photos/Media/Files --read the contents of your USB storage --modify or delete the contents of your USB storage -Wi-Fi connection information --view Wi-Fi connections -Phone --read phone status and identity --Device ID & call information --read phone status and identity -Location --precise location (GPS and network-based) --approximate location (network-based) -Storage --read the contents of your USB storage --modify or delete the contents of your USB storage -Other --run at startup --full network access --prevent device from sleeping --view network connections
- stuffbyspencer 6y ago
  Test your internet speed by seeing how fast you can download government malware and upload your personal data. It's so innovative!
  - donw 6y ago
    My god, they’re disrupting disruption itself!
- vlovich123 6y ago
  Some of those permissions don’t exist on the iOS version (and some aren’t even permissions available on the platform?) which may indicate that Android perms are misconfigured.
- devindotcom 6y ago
  Pretty gnarly. I'm going to ask the FCC about this.
- sliken 6y ago
  Isn't that's what's required? Read/modify USB storage = write bandwidth logs, read them later for graphing View wifi connections = track bandwidth per network Phone status identity = track phones with a unique id Location = track location to help find the best/worst physical locations for network. Full network access = send/receive packets Prevent sleeping = accurate benchmark numbers View network connections = track bandwidth per network.
  - MrDresden 6y ago
    Not an american, but I would not install a government application on my device unless it was opensourced (happened in my home country with our covid tracker). And about the permissions: 1. There is plenty of internal sandbox space for logs (even on low end devices) unless no care is taken in trimming those logs, so don't see need for this. 2. Probably due to location detection, but could lead to some scary mass data analysis (Google has been working on mapping the insides of buildings using triangulation of wifi singals from Android devices; source: ADB podcast) 3. This shouldn't be done, and has been adviced against for years. The device should register for an id on a FCC controlled server. 4. Makes sense for what they are doing. 5. Comes out of the box on Android since a few years ago 6. Makes no sense. No need to keep the device from sleeping to do the analysis. 7. Detecting bandwidth usage and capabilities is what the app is supposed to do.
    - gsich 6y ago
      6: without this you can turn off the display and the app will either perform much worse or killed.
      - MrDresden 6y ago
        As an Android dev my self I assure you there is no need for that permission, unless they are doing real time processing all the time (rather than batched processing at scheduled intervals). Which if they do, I sure hope they explain that to their users, as that will have a serious impact on their devices.
- _ZeD_ 6y ago
  This is something I really don't understand... You really trust private people over Government? Why?
  - barsonme 6y ago
    Moderately so, yes.
  - perryizgr8 6y ago
    Why not? It seems obvious to me why a private entity is more trustworthy than a government with absolute monopoly on violence.
  - renewiltord 6y ago
    Private people can't put me in jail, man. That's good enough.
    - _ZeD_ 6y ago
      sure... people can only scam you, or beat you, or rape you, or kill you... or worse. About the jail, it's not that we live in a "banana republic" or in a dictatorship. You have right to a fair trial.
      - gambiting 6y ago
        I don't know where you live, but even though yes, such a right exists, it doesn't mean you shouldn't fear the government or its actions. US is extremely bad about this, but most western countries have this problem - let's say that you get accused of something(unfairly). In most western countries(with some exceptions) media can immediately print "_ZeD_ has been arrested on suspicion of murder!". You are usually arrested and kept until trial if the accusation is strong enough. In the meantime, you lose your job. You lose your friends and family support, except for the select few who actually believe your innocence. Your neighbours immediately know they live next to a murderer(even though nothing has been proven yet). And yes, in some countries(US....) you can be waiting a year for trial. Then, the trial is meant to be "fair", but surprise, it's a jury trial - the very opposite of fair, it's basically 12 random people deciding whether you should go to prison or not. 12 people who have spent the last year watching the news explaining how guilty you are and how the local police department is certain they "have the right guy". But sure, you got your "fair trial". But let's say you win. You are cleared of all charges, and are free to go. The government will not automatically reimburse you for the time you spent in jail(or some very nominal amount), your old employer is not required to give you your job back, and there will forever be people around you who secretly think you are actually guilty and just managed to escape justice. Or, you could just not trust the government and never ever put yourself in a situation which increases any chances of being accused of anything, fairly or not. The government has infinite amount of money and time to make your life miserable if someone is dedicated enough. They can make your life absolute hell or basically put you in a never ending loop of trials, which even if you keep winning, they can just bring more on, while your life is ruined. A private corporation can also make your life hell, but the only difference here is that at the very least, they would have to have a financial reason to do so. The government doesn't need that reason, all you need is one career prosecutor who thinks they can get a nice reputation by making an example of you. And the funny thing is, I generally trust our justice system(here in UK at least). I trust the police, I trust the court system. And yet I would never ever willingly give the government any information that is not absolutely 100% required by law for some essential function. Nuh uh. Nope.
- avipars 6y ago
  GPS is a required permission for android in recent versions to check APs and do Wi-Fi network scanning
- 2OEH8eoCRo0 6y ago
  Everyone here cries about shitty ISPs in America. This is obviously a tool to police shitty American ISPs isn't it? You need data first. It's why 3rd party speed tests and people saying "internet is too slow" doesn't cut it. https://www.fcc.gov/general/measuring-mobile-broadband-methodology-technical-summary https://www.fcc.gov/general/measuring-mobile-broadband-metho...
montroser 6y ago
Why is this an app instead of a just a web page with some javascript? It looks like the answer is that the app runs continuously in the background and periodically/randomly runs bandwidth tests and phones home with the results. I like the goals of this initiative, but also would appreciate a way to participate that doesn't involve a full blown mobile app and all the security/privacy issues that come with.
- sliken 6y ago
  They are trying to get a good survey of all the networks you visit, with multiple samples for each. However it asks for a bandwidth allocation, which I gave it infinite. It also asks to run in the background, which I denied. So it only runs when I ask, which seems completely reasonable.
fouric 6y ago
If I were a major, anticompetitive ISP, the minute I found out about this tool, I would figure out how to fingerprint it, and then artificially inflate results by giving priority and bonus bandwidth to its tests. What is this app doing to prevent that? I don't see any mention of any awareness that ISPs have historically gamed speed tests and what countermeasures FCC has taken. Idea: would it be possible to built an app that measured the speed of connections for other apps by using the platforms' VPN APIs to create a dummy VPN service that just measured bandwidth/latency?
- Mordisquitos 6y ago
  > If I were a major, anticompetitive ISP, the minute I found out about this tool, I would figure out how to fingerprint it, and then artificially inflate results by giving priority and bonus bandwidth to its tests. AKA the Volkswagen strategy.
- sliken 6y ago
  Heh, sure, but that already happens with various bandwidth sites. I've tried to replicate various bandwidth tests and failed miserably. Then tried a bandwidth test over VPN (to hide it from the ISP) and then got numbers matching my real world tests. It works the opposite way as well, when Comcast was blackmailing Netflix you'd get terrible bandwidth, unless you used a VPN to hide your traffic.
  - Mordisquitos 6y ago
    >It works the opposite way as well, when Comcast was blackmailing Netflix you'd get terrible bandwidth, unless you used a VPN to hide your traffic. This bit here is the real smoking gun. Without it, the fact that you got worse bandwidth test results when using a VPN is wholly unconvincing—who's to say that it wasn't due to your VPN's own limitations?
    - notamy 6y ago
      I think you might have misread -- it's saying that the bandwidth was awful UNLESS using a VPN, i.e. no VPN was the slower option.
cute_boi 6y ago
Is this going to work anyway? In the country where I live they have made speedtest site like fast.com ridiculously fast (using routes etc). But in reality all other website are too slow. How does it handle the result which is inflated by ISP? The solution is to regularly connect multiple different asn and check the speed?
- jedberg 6y ago
  Fast.com is owned by Netflix. It specifically tests your speed to a Netflix server. So if your ISP has a Netflix server on its network (many ISPs do) then it will be super fast.
  - r00fus 6y ago
    I find it great to test local traffic issues (ie, Comcastic days or wifi AP challenges). It's incredibly useful as one of many tools to gauge your speed.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
extradesgo 6y ago
Is there any acceptable excuse for this not being open sourced?
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- hugh-avherald 6y ago
  Making it harder to fingerprint.
  - LMYahooTFY 6y ago
    Does this actually make it significantly harder to finger print?
- dombili 6y ago
  Looks like the app was outsourced to a company named SamKnows. They have another speed test app on their iOS developer page that looks eerily similar to this app. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/samknows-test-your-internet/id1178716856 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/samknows-test-your-internet/id...
  - Spivak 6y ago
    I mean it’s not that eerie. They found an app they liked paid to whitelabel it. Buy over build when good solutions already exist.
- commoner 6y ago
  Previous versions of the FCC Speed Test app are free and open source (GPLv2): 2017 iOS version: https://github.com/SamKnows/skios-fcc https://github.com/SamKnows/skios-fcc 2014 Android version: https://github.com/SamKnows/skandroid-fcc https://github.com/SamKnows/skandroid-fcc 2013 Android version: https://github.com/FCC/mobile-mba-androidapp https://github.com/FCC/mobile-mba-androidapp Methodology: https://www.fcc.gov/general/measuring-broadband-america-open-methodology https://www.fcc.gov/general/measuring-broadband-america-open... Judging from the media coverage, it looks like the app was recently updated. The source code for the current version has not yet been released, but I hope that it will be soon.
tchalla 6y ago
Why does the App not provide a desktop app + web alternative? Here's the German government alternative which provides desktop browser, desktop app in addition to mobile app. https://breitbandmessung.de https://breitbandmessung.de
- ho_schi 6y ago
  I can recommend it. They use the relevant data centers in Frankfurt, right in the middle of Europe. The "Browsermessung" works nice and reliable on Linux and there is no Flash or advertisements. Of course you can also use the standalone apps. And interesting thing is, they value the Ping (actual speed and most relevant for Gaming) and not just the data throughput (Up-Download, relevant for Updates and Streaming).
daniellarusso 6y ago
So, is it testing home internet speeds, or really how good your wifi AP works?
- bscphil 6y ago
  Hmm. Ideally, your AP should handle speeds at least as fast as your WAN downlink provides, and most Americans have an AP provided by their ISP, so even if in some cases the AP is effectively throttling the connection, the ISP should get the blame in the end anyway. (Obviously there are exceptions to this, but I don't think the FCC is suing anyone on the basis of this data...)
  - neogodless 6y ago
    > most Americans have an AP provided by their ISP Is this accurate, and is there some way to see statistics on this? Based on assumptions, that the majority just accepts what the ISP sends them when they sign up, it's likely. But I do my best to make sure me and everyone who trusts me escapes the model rental trap, and gets set up with a router they own and completely control. To reword this, I don't really want to put wireless access point responsibility on the ISP, because I don't want the default to be that you're relying on them. I just want them to provide "dumb" pipes to my house to shuttle data in and out.
rozab 6y ago
Here's the UK equivalent (a pretty clean web page) https://checker.ofcom.org.uk/broadband-test https://checker.ofcom.org.uk/broadband-test The majority of ISPs here are in a voluntary program whereby they must provide a certain minimum speed (specified in the contract) or the customer is allowed to break the contract.
- joncrane 6y ago
  Also created by the same company that the FCC used (SamKnows)
teddyh 6y ago
Note: Users in Sweden are probably better served by http://www.bredbandskollen.se/ http://www.bredbandskollen.se/
bochoh 6y ago
I love that the app publisher for Apple is SamKnows - alluding to mass surveillance. Uncle Sam knows and is watching.
- nojito 6y ago
  SamKnows is a real analytics company. https://www.samknows.com/ https://www.samknows.com/
TheRealDunkirk 6y ago
Every time I get reminded about speed testing, I check my connection, and every time, I'm getting far less than I'm paying for. Then I have to go on a modem-reboot phone-tag game with support to get it corrected. I have gigabit service with Comcast, I'm testing at 50 Mbps, and I just don't have the energy this morning to fight them about it again. Thanks for reminding me.
- neogodless 6y ago
  I'm lucky enough to have both Comcast and Verizon FiOS available. The latter offers 200/200 Mbps service for $40/month, and I typically get 300/320 whenever I test (speedtest.net). Presumably the issue is "on your end" each time, until you go through the steps they make you go through, and then it mysteriously resolves just before your support call ends, without them taking responsibility? https://imgur.com/a/Ghtv1II https://imgur.com/a/Ghtv1II
  - stevenicr 6y ago
    Have similar experiences - it amazes me how the (assuming India) call center folks are trained to be so good at seeing the diagnosed problem, hitting keys to re-provision thier equipment.. while pushing 'unknown blame on your owned equipment, we can't peer into your modem' - um it's a moto docsis 3 compliant, do I need to get in touch with.. oh check your speed now.. it's getting faster magically. 'The latter offers 200/200 Mbps service for $40/month' - wish that was here. Paying about $40 per month or 25MB and getting 15-19 the past two weeks - using comcast's speed test portal.
avipars 6y ago
developed by SamKnows (on iOS)
ggvvfdde 6y ago
I can't wait for my ISP to whitelist the FCCs servers so it shows full speed, while continuing to throttle other services.
petermfgriffin 6y ago
its da freakin F - C - C !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11
petermfgriffin 6y ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqnqRD-znfg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqnqRD-znfg
ElijahLynn 6y ago
That is crazy that there isn't a webapp and is iOS and Android only.
LinuxBender 6y ago
Is there a simple app that exposes curl on the phone? If so, one could just use the -w flag to expose things like tcp connect time, dns lookup time, ssl handshake time, file download time and just point it to a file that is not too big for the phone. Seems some people have thought of curl on the phone before. [1] Maybe even have a simple html menu that gives you 10 destinations to choose from. The stats could even be read by the fcc site in URL parms so no POST is even required. Curl can also do upload timing tests and expose that in the -w flag. To use that flag also requires -o /dev/null which addresses storage. No need for storage. [1] - https://stackoverflow.com/questions/4952169/using-curl-in-android https://stackoverflow.com/questions/4952169/using-curl-in-an...
bradknowles 6y ago
Note that DSLReports has a good web browser based speed test page at http://www.dslreports.com/speedtest http://www.dslreports.com/speedtest I can tell you that AT&T uVerse definitely throttles this one. I get ~40mbps when I’m not on VPN, and when I am on VPN, I get 60-80mbps. Same used to be true for fast.com and the corresponding web page, until Netflix recently decided they don’t like my VPN and so the Speedtest stopped running at all unless I was unprotected. Seems to me like Netflix could run their own VPN or contract for VPN services through a carrier, so that we could still get to the same shows we’d watch anyway, while also being protected from an abusive carrier on our end.

91 points by gscott 6y ago

US Government app on my personal device that's meant to move data? No thanks. Here are the permissions for the Android App (including location, storage access, and starting on boot) -Photos/Media/Files --read the contents of your USB storage --modify or delete the contents of your USB storage -Wi-Fi connection information --view Wi-Fi connections -Phone --read phone status and identity --Device ID & call information --read phone status and identity -Location --precise location (GPS and network-based) --approximate location (network-based) -Storage --read the contents of your USB storage --modify or delete the contents of your USB storage -Other --run at startup --full network access --prevent device from sleeping --view network connections

stuffbyspencer 6y ago
Test your internet speed by seeing how fast you can download government malware and upload your personal data. It's so innovative!
- donw 6y ago
  My god, they’re disrupting disruption itself!
vlovich123 6y ago
Some of those permissions don’t exist on the iOS version (and some aren’t even permissions available on the platform?) which may indicate that Android perms are misconfigured.
devindotcom 6y ago
Pretty gnarly. I'm going to ask the FCC about this.
sliken 6y ago
Isn't that's what's required? Read/modify USB storage = write bandwidth logs, read them later for graphing View wifi connections = track bandwidth per network Phone status identity = track phones with a unique id Location = track location to help find the best/worst physical locations for network. Full network access = send/receive packets Prevent sleeping = accurate benchmark numbers View network connections = track bandwidth per network.
- MrDresden 6y ago
  Not an american, but I would not install a government application on my device unless it was opensourced (happened in my home country with our covid tracker). And about the permissions: 1. There is plenty of internal sandbox space for logs (even on low end devices) unless no care is taken in trimming those logs, so don't see need for this. 2. Probably due to location detection, but could lead to some scary mass data analysis (Google has been working on mapping the insides of buildings using triangulation of wifi singals from Android devices; source: ADB podcast) 3. This shouldn't be done, and has been adviced against for years. The device should register for an id on a FCC controlled server. 4. Makes sense for what they are doing. 5. Comes out of the box on Android since a few years ago 6. Makes no sense. No need to keep the device from sleeping to do the analysis. 7. Detecting bandwidth usage and capabilities is what the app is supposed to do.
  - gsich 6y ago
    6: without this you can turn off the display and the app will either perform much worse or killed.
    - MrDresden 6y ago
      As an Android dev my self I assure you there is no need for that permission, unless they are doing real time processing all the time (rather than batched processing at scheduled intervals). Which if they do, I sure hope they explain that to their users, as that will have a serious impact on their devices.
_ZeD_ 6y ago
This is something I really don't understand... You really trust private people over Government? Why?
- barsonme 6y ago
  Moderately so, yes.
- perryizgr8 6y ago
  Why not? It seems obvious to me why a private entity is more trustworthy than a government with absolute monopoly on violence.
- renewiltord 6y ago
  Private people can't put me in jail, man. That's good enough.
  - _ZeD_ 6y ago
    sure... people can only scam you, or beat you, or rape you, or kill you... or worse. About the jail, it's not that we live in a "banana republic" or in a dictatorship. You have right to a fair trial.
    - gambiting 6y ago
      I don't know where you live, but even though yes, such a right exists, it doesn't mean you shouldn't fear the government or its actions. US is extremely bad about this, but most western countries have this problem - let's say that you get accused of something(unfairly). In most western countries(with some exceptions) media can immediately print "_ZeD_ has been arrested on suspicion of murder!". You are usually arrested and kept until trial if the accusation is strong enough. In the meantime, you lose your job. You lose your friends and family support, except for the select few who actually believe your innocence. Your neighbours immediately know they live next to a murderer(even though nothing has been proven yet). And yes, in some countries(US....) you can be waiting a year for trial. Then, the trial is meant to be "fair", but surprise, it's a jury trial - the very opposite of fair, it's basically 12 random people deciding whether you should go to prison or not. 12 people who have spent the last year watching the news explaining how guilty you are and how the local police department is certain they "have the right guy". But sure, you got your "fair trial". But let's say you win. You are cleared of all charges, and are free to go. The government will not automatically reimburse you for the time you spent in jail(or some very nominal amount), your old employer is not required to give you your job back, and there will forever be people around you who secretly think you are actually guilty and just managed to escape justice. Or, you could just not trust the government and never ever put yourself in a situation which increases any chances of being accused of anything, fairly or not. The government has infinite amount of money and time to make your life miserable if someone is dedicated enough. They can make your life absolute hell or basically put you in a never ending loop of trials, which even if you keep winning, they can just bring more on, while your life is ruined. A private corporation can also make your life hell, but the only difference here is that at the very least, they would have to have a financial reason to do so. The government doesn't need that reason, all you need is one career prosecutor who thinks they can get a nice reputation by making an example of you. And the funny thing is, I generally trust our justice system(here in UK at least). I trust the police, I trust the court system. And yet I would never ever willingly give the government any information that is not absolutely 100% required by law for some essential function. Nuh uh. Nope.
avipars 6y ago
GPS is a required permission for android in recent versions to check APs and do Wi-Fi network scanning
2OEH8eoCRo0 6y ago
Everyone here cries about shitty ISPs in America. This is obviously a tool to police shitty American ISPs isn't it? You need data first. It's why 3rd party speed tests and people saying "internet is too slow" doesn't cut it. https://www.fcc.gov/general/measuring-mobile-broadband-methodology-technical-summary https://www.fcc.gov/general/measuring-mobile-broadband-metho...

montroser 6y ago

Why is this an app instead of a just a web page with some javascript? It looks like the answer is that the app runs continuously in the background and periodically/randomly runs bandwidth tests and phones home with the results. I like the goals of this initiative, but also would appreciate a way to participate that doesn't involve a full blown mobile app and all the security/privacy issues that come with.

sliken 6y ago
They are trying to get a good survey of all the networks you visit, with multiple samples for each. However it asks for a bandwidth allocation, which I gave it infinite. It also asks to run in the background, which I denied. So it only runs when I ask, which seems completely reasonable.

fouric 6y ago

If I were a major, anticompetitive ISP, the minute I found out about this tool, I would figure out how to fingerprint it, and then artificially inflate results by giving priority and bonus bandwidth to its tests. What is this app doing to prevent that? I don't see any mention of any awareness that ISPs have historically gamed speed tests and what countermeasures FCC has taken. Idea: would it be possible to built an app that measured the speed of connections for other apps by using the platforms' VPN APIs to create a dummy VPN service that just measured bandwidth/latency?

Mordisquitos 6y ago
> If I were a major, anticompetitive ISP, the minute I found out about this tool, I would figure out how to fingerprint it, and then artificially inflate results by giving priority and bonus bandwidth to its tests. AKA the Volkswagen strategy.
sliken 6y ago
Heh, sure, but that already happens with various bandwidth sites. I've tried to replicate various bandwidth tests and failed miserably. Then tried a bandwidth test over VPN (to hide it from the ISP) and then got numbers matching my real world tests. It works the opposite way as well, when Comcast was blackmailing Netflix you'd get terrible bandwidth, unless you used a VPN to hide your traffic.
- Mordisquitos 6y ago
  >It works the opposite way as well, when Comcast was blackmailing Netflix you'd get terrible bandwidth, unless you used a VPN to hide your traffic. This bit here is the real smoking gun. Without it, the fact that you got worse bandwidth test results when using a VPN is wholly unconvincing—who's to say that it wasn't due to your VPN's own limitations?
  - notamy 6y ago
    I think you might have misread -- it's saying that the bandwidth was awful UNLESS using a VPN, i.e. no VPN was the slower option.

cute_boi 6y ago

Is this going to work anyway? In the country where I live they have made speedtest site like fast.com ridiculously fast (using routes etc). But in reality all other website are too slow. How does it handle the result which is inflated by ISP? The solution is to regularly connect multiple different asn and check the speed?

jedberg 6y ago
Fast.com is owned by Netflix. It specifically tests your speed to a Netflix server. So if your ISP has a Netflix server on its network (many ISPs do) then it will be super fast.
- r00fus 6y ago
  I find it great to test local traffic issues (ie, Comcastic days or wifi AP challenges). It's incredibly useful as one of many tools to gauge your speed.

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

extradesgo 6y ago

Is there any acceptable excuse for this not being open sourced?

deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
hugh-avherald 6y ago
Making it harder to fingerprint.
- LMYahooTFY 6y ago
  Does this actually make it significantly harder to finger print?
dombili 6y ago
Looks like the app was outsourced to a company named SamKnows. They have another speed test app on their iOS developer page that looks eerily similar to this app. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/samknows-test-your-internet/id1178716856 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/samknows-test-your-internet/id...
- Spivak 6y ago
  I mean it’s not that eerie. They found an app they liked paid to whitelabel it. Buy over build when good solutions already exist.
commoner 6y ago
Previous versions of the FCC Speed Test app are free and open source (GPLv2): 2017 iOS version: https://github.com/SamKnows/skios-fcc https://github.com/SamKnows/skios-fcc 2014 Android version: https://github.com/SamKnows/skandroid-fcc https://github.com/SamKnows/skandroid-fcc 2013 Android version: https://github.com/FCC/mobile-mba-androidapp https://github.com/FCC/mobile-mba-androidapp Methodology: https://www.fcc.gov/general/measuring-broadband-america-open-methodology https://www.fcc.gov/general/measuring-broadband-america-open... Judging from the media coverage, it looks like the app was recently updated. The source code for the current version has not yet been released, but I hope that it will be soon.

tchalla 6y ago

Why does the App not provide a desktop app + web alternative? Here's the German government alternative which provides desktop browser, desktop app in addition to mobile app. https://breitbandmessung.de https://breitbandmessung.de

ho_schi 6y ago
I can recommend it. They use the relevant data centers in Frankfurt, right in the middle of Europe. The "Browsermessung" works nice and reliable on Linux and there is no Flash or advertisements. Of course you can also use the standalone apps. And interesting thing is, they value the Ping (actual speed and most relevant for Gaming) and not just the data throughput (Up-Download, relevant for Updates and Streaming).

daniellarusso 6y ago

So, is it testing home internet speeds, or really how good your wifi AP works?

bscphil 6y ago
Hmm. Ideally, your AP should handle speeds at least as fast as your WAN downlink provides, and most Americans have an AP provided by their ISP, so even if in some cases the AP is effectively throttling the connection, the ISP should get the blame in the end anyway. (Obviously there are exceptions to this, but I don't think the FCC is suing anyone on the basis of this data...)
- neogodless 6y ago
  > most Americans have an AP provided by their ISP Is this accurate, and is there some way to see statistics on this? Based on assumptions, that the majority just accepts what the ISP sends them when they sign up, it's likely. But I do my best to make sure me and everyone who trusts me escapes the model rental trap, and gets set up with a router they own and completely control. To reword this, I don't really want to put wireless access point responsibility on the ISP, because I don't want the default to be that you're relying on them. I just want them to provide "dumb" pipes to my house to shuttle data in and out.

rozab 6y ago

Here's the UK equivalent (a pretty clean web page) https://checker.ofcom.org.uk/broadband-test https://checker.ofcom.org.uk/broadband-test The majority of ISPs here are in a voluntary program whereby they must provide a certain minimum speed (specified in the contract) or the customer is allowed to break the contract.

joncrane 6y ago
Also created by the same company that the FCC used (SamKnows)

teddyh 6y ago

Note: Users in Sweden are probably better served by http://www.bredbandskollen.se/ http://www.bredbandskollen.se/

bochoh 6y ago

I love that the app publisher for Apple is SamKnows - alluding to mass surveillance. Uncle Sam knows and is watching.

nojito 6y ago
SamKnows is a real analytics company. https://www.samknows.com/ https://www.samknows.com/

TheRealDunkirk 6y ago

Every time I get reminded about speed testing, I check my connection, and every time, I'm getting far less than I'm paying for. Then I have to go on a modem-reboot phone-tag game with support to get it corrected. I have gigabit service with Comcast, I'm testing at 50 Mbps, and I just don't have the energy this morning to fight them about it again. Thanks for reminding me.

neogodless 6y ago
I'm lucky enough to have both Comcast and Verizon FiOS available. The latter offers 200/200 Mbps service for $40/month, and I typically get 300/320 whenever I test (speedtest.net). Presumably the issue is "on your end" each time, until you go through the steps they make you go through, and then it mysteriously resolves just before your support call ends, without them taking responsibility? https://imgur.com/a/Ghtv1II https://imgur.com/a/Ghtv1II
- stevenicr 6y ago
  Have similar experiences - it amazes me how the (assuming India) call center folks are trained to be so good at seeing the diagnosed problem, hitting keys to re-provision thier equipment.. while pushing 'unknown blame on your owned equipment, we can't peer into your modem' - um it's a moto docsis 3 compliant, do I need to get in touch with.. oh check your speed now.. it's getting faster magically. 'The latter offers 200/200 Mbps service for $40/month' - wish that was here. Paying about $40 per month or 25MB and getting 15-19 the past two weeks - using comcast's speed test portal.

avipars 6y ago

developed by SamKnows (on iOS)

ggvvfdde 6y ago

I can't wait for my ISP to whitelist the FCCs servers so it shows full speed, while continuing to throttle other services.

petermfgriffin 6y ago

its da freakin F - C - C !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11

petermfgriffin 6y ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqnqRD-znfg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqnqRD-znfg

ElijahLynn 6y ago

That is crazy that there isn't a webapp and is iOS and Android only.

LinuxBender 6y ago

Is there a simple app that exposes curl on the phone? If so, one could just use the -w flag to expose things like tcp connect time, dns lookup time, ssl handshake time, file download time and just point it to a file that is not too big for the phone. Seems some people have thought of curl on the phone before. [1] Maybe even have a simple html menu that gives you 10 destinations to choose from. The stats could even be read by the fcc site in URL parms so no POST is even required. Curl can also do upload timing tests and expose that in the -w flag. To use that flag also requires -o /dev/null which addresses storage. No need for storage. [1] - https://stackoverflow.com/questions/4952169/using-curl-in-android https://stackoverflow.com/questions/4952169/using-curl-in-an...

bradknowles 6y ago

Note that DSLReports has a good web browser based speed test page at http://www.dslreports.com/speedtest http://www.dslreports.com/speedtest I can tell you that AT&T uVerse definitely throttles this one. I get ~40mbps when I’m not on VPN, and when I am on VPN, I get 60-80mbps. Same used to be true for fast.com and the corresponding web page, until Netflix recently decided they don’t like my VPN and so the Speedtest stopped running at all unless I was unprotected. Seems to me like Netflix could run their own VPN or contract for VPN services through a carrier, so that we could still get to the same shows we’d watch anyway, while also being protected from an abusive carrier on our end.