Is Your ISP Lying? FCC to Offer Tools to Test Surfing Speed
Have you ever had a sneaky suspicion that your broadband speed might not be as fast as your Internet Service Provider (ISP) claims? Soon, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will help you figure out if the wool has been pulled over your eyes. According to Wired, the FCC's new site Broadband.gov will let users test the speed of their broadband connection for free. The announcement of this site, which goes live Thursday, comes just days after research showed that most people are clueless about their connection speed.There are two ways to test your broadband. First, you can visit the FCC's site and simply enter your street address. Don't worry, the government doesn't want to spy on you. The FCC hopes that compiling geographic data on broadband speeds could help bring about policy change that would force providers to regulate coverage areas and speeds. Second, the FCC is also offering apps that'll test the connection for both the iPhone and Android phones, which you can download from the respective app stores on Thursday. If you're in a broadband "Dead Zone," the FCC still wants you to complete a report on the site or call this number: 888-CALL-FCC.
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