FCC releases Android speed test app to gather data on cell carrier performance.
The Federal Communications Commission has released a mobile speed test app for Android to help the agency crowdsource data about wireless performance across the country. The app, simply named the FCC Speed Test, doesn’t have the best looking design out there, but it doesn’t necessarily need to: once installed, it’ll automatically check a phone’s connection speed in the background when the device is not in use. While that’ll allow individual users to clearly see how well their own data provider is performing, it’ll more importantly allow the FCC to gather a wide amount of data on cellular carriers nationwide – that is, if its app gets enough users.
But the FCC seems to be confident that it will. Early next year, the commission intends to release an interactive map online that’ll detail, in general, how well each data provider does in different locations. As the year goes on and it gathers more data, the FCC intends to make the map more and more detailed, adding in more local results, speed variations, and packet loss reports. It’s also promising infographics.
http://www.theverge.com/2013/11/14/5105 … d-test-app
