TThe Federal Communications Commission encourages people to use it her internet speed test application, available free nationwide for anyone with an Android or iOS device, so you can collect more accurate internet speed data for your broadband deployment efforts.
“To bridge the gap between digital and non-digital users, we are working to build a complete and easy-to-use dataset on broadband availability.” Said FCC Acting President Jessica Rosenworcel in a statement today. “Expanding the consumer base using the FCC Speed Test app will allow us to provide enhanced coverage information to the public and add to the measurement tools we are developing to show where broadband is actually available across the United States. ”.
The app works just like other internet speed tests, such as Ookla and Googleinvolves pressing a button and the application will measure the download and load speed. The FCC application has been produced results similar to D’Ookla in my tests. Connected to my 5.0 GHz wifi band, the FCC app said my download speed was 282 Mbps and my upload speed was 23.4 Mbps. (Payment 400 Mbps download). Ookla gave me a result of 270 Mbps download and 22.0 Mbps download.
However, on a 4G LTE connection, the FCC spit out a result of 56.3 Mbps download and 10.8 Mbps upload, while Ookla reported 59.6 Mbps download and 2.81 Mbps of ascent.
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One thing Ookla doesn’t have is the ability to track mobile data usage. Recently, the FCC added it to your app, so if you’re planning to test your internet speed on a 4G or 5G connection instead of wifi, you’ll know how much data you use to do so. You you can turn this feature on or off, and as long as it is forward, you you can also set a mobile data limit, with an option to choose from what day of the month yours the data is reset according to your billing cycle.
But like Ookla, the FCC application also provides users with other measures, such as latency, fluctuation, and packet loss: information that the average internet user may not need, but someone who plays a lot of online games would probably find it useful, especially if they play in the cloud.
The FCC’s speed test application has been around for several years. It was launched for the first time in 2013 for Android devices and again in 2014 for iOS devices. The purpose of the application was the same then: tone provides Internet and mobile speed data to enhance broadband deployment efforts.
It’s unclear what the FCC has been doing with all this data since 2014 or even if it’s enough, but given that the agency is renewing its momentum for people to use it, it suggests that the The application has not worked as the FCC had hoped in recent years.
But yesour phone is just a way to connect to the internet. You may see different wifi speeds from your laptop or desktop, and connecting any to the router via Ethernet will always get the best results. Phone connectivity is just one piece of the puzzle, so if the FCC really wants a full picture of Internet connectivity in the United States, it’ll have to look at other data points as well.