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Ajit Pai Isn't Saying Whether ISPs Deliver the Broadband Speeds You Pay For (arstechnica.com)
An anonymous reader shares a report from Ars Technica, written by Jon Brodkin: Nearly two years have passed since the Federal Communications Commission reported on whether broadband customers are getting the Internet speeds they pay for. In 2011, the Obama-era FCC began measuring broadband speeds in nearly 7,000 consumer homes as part of the then-new Measuring Broadband America program. Each year from 2011 to 2016, the FCC released an annual report comparing the actual speeds customers received to the advertised speeds customers were promised by Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Verizon, AT&T, and other large ISPs. But the FCC hasn't released any new Measuring Broadband America reports since Republican Ajit Pai became the commission chairman in January 2017. Pai's first year as chair was the first time the FCC failed to issue a new Measuring Broadband America report since the program started -- though the FCC could release a new report before his second year as chair is complete.
For more than three months, Ars has been trying to find out whether the FCC is still analyzing Measuring Broadband America data and whether the FCC plans to release any more measurement reports. SamKnows, the measurement company used by the FCC for this program, told Ars that Measuring Broadband America is still active and that a new report is forthcoming, hopefully next month. But whether the report is released is up to the FCC, and Chairman Pai's public relations office has ignored our questions about the program. Because of Pai's office's silence, we filed a Freedom of Information Act (FoIA) request on August 13 for internal emails about the Measuring Broadband America program and for broadband speed measurement data since January 2017. By law, the FCC and other federal agencies have 20 business days to respond to public records requests. The FCC has denied Ars' request for "expedited processing," which "was warranted because the broadband measuring data is out of data, depriving American consumers of crucial information when they purchase broadband access," writes Brodkin. The FCC said, "we are not persuaded that the records you request are so urgent that our normal process will not provide them in a timely manner."
For more than three months, Ars has been trying to find out whether the FCC is still analyzing Measuring Broadband America data and whether the FCC plans to release any more measurement reports. SamKnows, the measurement company used by the FCC for this program, told Ars that Measuring Broadband America is still active and that a new report is forthcoming, hopefully next month. But whether the report is released is up to the FCC, and Chairman Pai's public relations office has ignored our questions about the program. Because of Pai's office's silence, we filed a Freedom of Information Act (FoIA) request on August 13 for internal emails about the Measuring Broadband America program and for broadband speed measurement data since January 2017. By law, the FCC and other federal agencies have 20 business days to respond to public records requests. The FCC has denied Ars' request for "expedited processing," which "was warranted because the broadband measuring data is out of data, depriving American consumers of crucial information when they purchase broadband access," writes Brodkin. The FCC said, "we are not persuaded that the records you request are so urgent that our normal process will not provide them in a timely manner."
They're happy with the under the table funding from the ISPs, no sense in stirring up trouble.
Besides, we all know that we're getting between a third to a tenth of what we pay for. Only municipal Internet does better in America, which is why the private companies keep trying to ban it.
It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
The FCC is sending a big FU to American citizens. This administration gets more awful all the day. When are we going to hit bottom barrell?
we are not persuaded that the records you request are so urgent that our normal process will not provide them in a timely manner
Pray he doesn't alter it any further.
The Daddy casts sleep on the Baby. The Baby resists!
In Australia, NBN provider speeds are reported to the public.
https://www.accc.gov.au/media-...
Sure, the NBN rollout has not been without its problems and controversy but reports on how the various providers are scoring gets reported.
If they were, he (the FCC) would tell us - to make the ISPs look good - duh.
It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
correct spelling is actually vodak
(obscure?)
--
"It is now safe to switch off your computer."
This is invaluable info that customers should be more aware of - and the US should follow.
Why would anyone engrave "Elbereth"?
My speeds are 250 / 10 and, with rare exceptions, I actually do see these speeds.
I would say, 99% of the time I typically see the speeds I'm supposed to see. ( Xfinity, surprisingly )
When I don't, there is usually an outage of some sort that is impacting the area. :| )
( Last one some idiot in a truck wiped out a gas line, which caught fire, which melted the pole carrying the fiber
Though, my example is probably the exception and certainly not the norm for most.
I have Spectrum and am finding that my speeds for streaming are going up dramatically (triple or more) when I stream through a VPN. This is while always measuring the 100 MB speed I pay for or a touch more when running any speed checking service. So we have entered an age where it is useless to say you have a 100 MB connection without saying what data type you're getting that speed with.