Announcing the Samknows performance monitoring network - Volunteers wanted!
I’ve long been frustrated by the confusion surrounding broadband performance, and it seems I’m not alone. Ofcom is currently working with ISPs to formulate a Code of Practice that will provide consumers with more information at the point of sale on their likely broadband speed. But is it really right for us to expect a free broadband connection to perform as well as a £25 per month one?
That’s just the problem. We simply do not know how well one ISP performs with respect to another.
At present there is no statistical comparison of how any broadband products perform. All we have is anecdotal evidence from consumers, combined with some speed tester results. These have their place, granted, but it’s hardly the basis to make informed statistical comparisons.
In an effort to demystify the murky world of broadband performance we are today announcing the public pilot of our performance monitoring network.
We’re deploying small hardware-based monitoring units to volunteers all around the country. Once connected to the volunteer’s home network the units will perform a series of tests at regular intervals during the day, every day of the year. The results of these tests are fed up to our reporting engine and combined with the results of others on the same ISP to form a national view of how that ISP is performing. Given enough coverage we could potentially even drill down to regional monitoring.
A hardware solution was chosen over a software one for the increased dataset it provides (who leaves their computer on 24/7!?) and the superior quality of the data. Furthermore, our chosen hardware will only run its tests when your network (both wired and wireless) is not busy - good for you and also good for the accuracy of the results.
I must stress that this system goes far beyond running vanilla speed tests. The units are checking latency, packet loss, DNS query times and failures, as well as the obligatory suite of speed tests. The goal is to provide a statistically sound measurement of overall broadband quality.
More details of the tests we’re running, the hardware being used and why we’re doing this can all be found in the FAQ.
Now this is where you come in…
We’ve got a small but successful pilot of 50 units in the wild and we’re now keen to expand this further. We’re looking for a further 200 willing volunteers. If you’re interested in getting involved you can read more and apply at the sign up page. There’s no cost whatsoever.
Ultimately we want to present an accurate and representative view of broadband products across the country. We hope that the statistics we produce will provide a benchmark for users, businesses, regulators and providers alike.
» Read the Performance Monitoring FAQ
» Sign up as a volunteer
Tags: Broadband Performance
