Test your Internet speed

In all the debate about Net Neutrality  (whether commercial internet providers can treat different kinds of content differently in order to control their customer bases and profitability), there is a basic reality that most of us don't know much about the cost effectiveness of choosing Comcast, Verizon or other Internet providers. In particular, not surprisingly, most people in the US have little idea of the speed of their Internet connection and how that compares with monthly costs and fees. A survey by the FCC this spring showed that 80% of consumers in the US don't know the speed of their connection. 

I just checked my home Comcast "my account" page and can't find a reference to promised speed. I have personally checked our speed and know that it varies over time, both "upstream" (to the Internet) and "downstream" (back to us). Our office business Verizon account did come with options for speed, but we have never scientifically verified it.

Everyone has had days at work where people go around saying, "The Internet is slow today," and maybe it is, but for most, there is no built in way to test. There are tools that you can use to do this, and one now provided by the FCC  is at www.broadband.gov

More interestingly,  the FCC has paired with SamKnows to enlist a represenative national sample of broadband customers to systematically verify Internet speeds. If you are interested, please sign up here:  https://www.testmyisp.com SamKnows is an independent broadband watchdog started in England. I signed up, and will see what happens when they contact me. You may want to as well.