NEWS News media Information 202 / 418-0500Fax-On-Demand 202 / 418-2830TTY 202/418-2555Internet: http://www.fcc.govftp.fcc.gov Federal Communications Commission 445 12th Street, S.W. Washington, D. C. 20554 This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action. Release of the full text of a Commission order constitutes official action. See MCI v. FCC. 515 F 2d 385 (D.C. Circ 1974). FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NEWS MEDIA CONTACT February 17, 2012 Neil Grace, (202) 418-0506 neil.grace@fcc.gov FOLLOWING SUCCESS OF FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND BROADBAND SPEED TEST IN 2011, FCC ANNOUNCES EXPANSION OF NATIONWIDE TEST; RENEWS CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS FROM EVERY REGION OF THE COUNTRY TO PARTICIPATE IN 2012 STUDY Washington, D.C. – Today, the FCC announced the start of the 2012 Measuring Broadband America process, issuing a Public Notice (PN) to announce the start of the next round of tests and calling on consumers across the country to volunteer as participants. The participation of volunteers is vital to the FCC’s effort to measure broadband performance in the United States. The initiative is part of the FCC's ongoing efforts to empower consumers, ensure accountability, increase transparency, and enhance competition in the marketplace. The first Measuring Broadband America Report examined service offerings from 13 of the largest wireline broadband providers using automated, direct measurements of the broadband performance of thousands of volunteer broadband customers during March 2011. The study measured speed and performance as broadband is delivered to the home so that different service providers and technologies could be compared scientifically. The Report established for the first time that the majority of service providers were delivering performance approaching or exceeding the levels they advertised to their customers. It also identified Internet Service Providers (ISPs) that fell short of advertised speeds. A few months after the Report was released, the FCC noticed a significant improvement by a major ISP and announced the results in a blog post. The Report was the culmination of a year-long effort involving the cooperation of 22 stakeholders that included academic researchers from MIT and Georgia Tech, technology vendors, consumer groups, and ISPs representing 86% of all residential wireline broadband consumers in the United States to measure broadband performance to the homes of a representative sampling of thousands of volunteers. Expanding its effort to empower consumers, the FCC plans to issue two Measuring Broadband America reports in 2012. The FCC is also expanding the study to include more technologies, extending the study into new regions of the country, and planning to publish more kinds of data. The first round of testing for 2012 will begin in March. The FCC will continue its commitment to test and report broadband information transparently in collaboration with key stakeholders. The FCC is also encouraging consumers to volunteer to be a part of this important effort to provide detailed and accurate measurements of consumer broadband performance on a national level. Volunteers will provide crucial real data to evaluate ISP broadband performance claims and empower the ability of consumers to compare ISPs in meaningful ways. Volunteers who sign-up will receive a Whitebox from SamKnows, the FCC’s contractor, which will be programmed to measure broadband speeds delivered to the home and detailed reports on the performance of their broadband service. Detailed instructions on participation and a sign-up page are available at http://fcc.us/testisp. 2 For more information about the Measuring Broadband America Report, www.fcc.gov/measuring- broadband-america/ - FCC -