In a reversal of roles, Apple has approved something for the FCC, an iPhone app. The FCC's new app allows you to test the quality of your mobile data download and upload speeds in order to "create awareness about the importance of broadband quality in accessing content and services over the Internet." Of course that's not the only reason they have provided the app, the FCC also intends to collect the data to analyze the quality and coverage of mobile broadband connections across the United States as part of their efforts to identify areas with poor or nonexistent access to broadband.
FCC Mobile Broadband Test was actually developed by Ookla, the developers of the popular
Speedtest.net iPhone app and other network diagnostic software, which basically means that app has been re-branded and given the ability to share information with the FCC. For those of you concerned about your privacy, the
information being shared consists of your IP address, location, and performance information from the test.
So now that we got all of that out of the way, give the app a try in order to help the FCC help improve data access across the US, and then once you have your results, feel free to share them with the rest of us. Include whatever information you would like, such as what type of connection you have (3G/Edge), download speeds, upload speeds, location, time of day, etc.
I have taken the liberty of going first and my results are in the image above. How did you fair?
