FCC Set to Launch Program for Measuring Wireless Broadband Speeds

"We know from experience: transparency on broadband speeds drives improvement in broadband speeds,” said FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski (http://xrl.us/bnoinn). “Our ongoing Measuring Broadband America program has helped improve performance in wired broadband. Our new mobile broadband measurement initiative extends the program to smartphones and other wireless devices. It will empower consumers and encourage improvements in mobile networks and programs, benefitting millions of Americans."

The FCC scheduled a public meeting for Sept. 21 to discuss the program, to be run by staff from the FCC Office of Engineering and Technology and the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, said a notice published by the agency Wednesday (http://xrl.us/bnoifj). The meeting is to take place 1:30-3:30 p.m. EDT, in the 6th Floor South Conference Room at FCC headquarters. “The FCC has received commitments to cooperate in this program from major wireless carriers, including AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon, and CTIA,” the notice said.

"One question to ask is how much is this costing the taxpayers,” said a government official. “Another question to ask is, is such market research potentially available from the private sector. Years before the FCC got into the business of measuring broadband speeds for wireline, a whole host of private sector services sprang up on the Internet to do just that.”

Free State Foundation President Randolph May questioned why the government needs to do tests. “There are worse things the FCC could be doing than managing another speed test program,” May said. “But, frankly, assuming the public wants to have information on wireless speeds, I don’t see why the FCC has to devote its resources to running a measurement program. If there is a demand for such information, couldn’t Consumers Union or some other non-government organization conduct the tests and make the information available? Instead of looking for new things to do, I wish the agency would just focus on accomplishing certain essential tasks more efficiently and effectively."

"There are many publicly available wireless speed tests already,” said Fred Campbell, director of the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Communications Liberty and Innovation Project. “Wouldn’t the FCC’s time and resources be better spent promoting the actual deployment of fast 4G networks? Consumers would likely be better served if the FCC applied these resources to making more spectrum available."

Public Knowledge Staff Attorney John Bergmayer warned that developing a program for testing mobile speeds won’t be easy. “As the commission has learned, even programs that focus on ‘measurement’ can be controversial,” he said. “Too often, different networks are compared based on anecdotal and incomplete evidence,” Bergmayer said. “But the commission certainly has its work cut out for it. Wireless testing by its nature is more complex than wireline testing -- terrain features, atmospheric conditions, and interference from other uses can all affect results -- and I expect that the FCC will take all this into account.”

"People definitely want to know they're getting what they pay for when they buy plans promising faster speeds,” said Free Press Policy Director Matt Wood. “That means consumers will find value in valid wireless speed tests, but the FCC also needs to collect other data -- such as information on the price of these services -- and then adopt policies that will carry out its mission of promoting competition and greater use of broadband. The FCC needs to do more with the data it collects too, which is why it needs to adopt the National Broadband Plan’s recommendation to make the agency’s data available to outside researchers.”