FCC to monitor mobile broadband speeds

PanARMENIAN.Net - The U.S. Federal Communications Commission, which has been monitoring wired broadband speeds for years now, will soon do the same thing for mobile broadband speeds, AllThingsD reports.

The agency said this week that on September 21, it will hold an open meeting to discuss the development of a program to evaluate mobile broadband service performance in the United States. Its goal: to improve wireless performance and hold carriers accountable for their advertised speeds.

The FCC’s ongoing Measuring Broadband America program has had a fair bit of success in shaming underperforming ISPs into delivering the sort of speeds they promised their customers. It’s possible this new program will have a similar effect on mobile broadband providers.

“We know from experience: transparency on broadband speeds drives improvement in broadband speeds,” FCC chairman Julius Genachowski said in a prepared statement. “Our new mobile broadband measurement initiative extends the program to smartphones and other wireless devices. It will empower consumers and encourage improvements in mobile networks and programs, benefiting millions of Americans.”