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Recording actual bandwidth received to validate upto bandwidth ISP claims

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  • 02-02-2015 9:51am
    #1
    Bobking
    Registered Users Posts: 122 ✭✭


    Hi people of Ireland,

    I just created a site called irishinternetspeeds.weebly.com.
    The purpose is to collect actual recorded internet speeds by users and sharing that information openly.

    I am looking for a new supplier in my area and after comparing old reviews and ratings for a long time I still could not decide between upgrading my package with Vodafone, which actually meant saving money or switch to UPC cable for superfast speeds.

    Then UPC had a penguin on TV explain to me that even a penguin can't figure it out saying, "Its hard to find the best way to describe UPCs broadband speed, especially if youre a penguin. But its easy to agree what amazing value Irelands fasted broadband is".

    Now I'm no marketing genius or anything but if you can't describe how fast it is, how exactly do you discern the value ?

    It seems these days that most marketing actually has lies or contradictions, shock value has become confusion value.

    ie If we tell you we dont even know what we are selling you and then tell you it's obviously a good deal you'll be so confused you'll buy two contracts. ha, hows that for ya now boy. ha. whats your card number. <-use your accent

    Are you happy paying for the internet speed you receive? 11 votes

    Yes, I get what I pay for
    0% 0 votes
    Yes, sometimes reach the advertised speed
    45% 5 votes
    No, I rarely get the advertised speed
    18% 2 votes
    No, I never get near the advertised speed
    27% 3 votes
    First thing on a Monday, I really dont care
    9% 1 vote


Comments

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    #2
    roast
    Registered Users Posts: 2,320 ✭✭✭roast


    NetIndex allows you to view statistics based on actual speedtests and surveys.
    There isn't exactly national coverage on the Promise index but it does list some cities.
    http://www.netindex.com/


  • Options
    #3
    Bobking
    Registered Users Posts: 122 ✭✭Bobking


    roast wrote: »
    NetIndex allows you to view statistics based on actual speedtests and surveys.
    There isn't exactly national coverage on the Promise index but it does list some cities.

    Thanks, had a look and they dont seem to have enough data either.
    I am specifically looking to serve people like myself who want to make an informed decision about the actual record each isp has for delivering on its offered service.

    I think the best way would be with uptodate direct comparison between reported speeds and claims made by ISPs. sure we'll see how it goes.


  • Options
    #4
    Bobking
    Registered Users Posts: 122 ✭✭Bobking


    Hi all,

    Is there an interest in having this website ?
    Do you think it is a good idea or is it worth having ?

    I was thinking it might be more useful on a town or proximity to a town basis. This could be handy for people living in rural areas especially if speeds are low.

    Any other ideas or input would be appreciated please.

    Thanks


  • Options
    #5
    ED E
    Registered Users Posts: 36,167 ✭✭✭✭ED E


    SamKnows are already doing this with their whitebox program.


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    #6
    Bobking
    Registered Users Posts: 122 ✭✭Bobking


    ED E wrote: »
    SamKnows are already doing this with their whitebox program.
    Excellent. Thank you. /thread

    SamKnows was founded in 2003.Since then it has published data about broadband availability for free and advocated on behalf of consumers. In 2008 SamKnows developed a way of measuring broadband performance and now works with governments, ISPs, academics, consumer groups, fellow engineers and consumers on broadband measurement projects in 40 countries worldwide. The data from these projects is used to improve internet performance. SamKnows is a strong supporter of Open Data and is a member of the ODI.
    Our projects are funded by a combination of grants and contracts from telecom regulators and ISPs. In some cases we fund work ourselves, if we are able to.
    In Ireland we have a number of different projects: we are working for the European Commission as part of their Digital Agenda, we also work for ISPs and we hope to be supplying data to ComReg in the near future. We have found that if we can build a panel of consumer volunteers we can generate an accurate picture of actual broadband performance. We then use this to advocate on behalf of consumers to improve broadband performance. For example, since we started recruiting consumers in the UK, internet speed has improved by almost 150% (based on Ofcom reports – 7.2Mbit/s average download speeds in October 2008 and 17.8Mbps average download speeds in November 2013).


    We want to send out as many Whiteboxes as possible to people across Ireland to join the SamKnows broadband measurement Community. If you would like to join the hundreds already taking part please find out how to sign up.


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