More Than a Broadband Map

Understanding the state of broadband in the U.S. is more than just knowing the advertised speed in a given area. Advertised speeds do not indicate the actual viability of watching streaming video or the capacity for a broadband connection to facilitate tele-health or tele-education applications,  especially when the majority of consumers receive only half of the advertised speed for a service. Measurement Lab (M-Lab) is poised to address this broadband data void and allow researchers to make international, national, state, and, local comparisons of real-world broadband performance.

One million tests daily (over 300+ terabytes of publicly released data) and counting; M-Lab is helping policymakers and consumers alike understand actual broadband performance. At this March 23 event, the New America Foundation’s Open Technology Initiative and Vint Cerf, Vice President and Chief Internet Evangelist at Google, offered sneak peak at data visualization tools of actual broadband speeds around the world.

M-Lab has been collecting broadband performance data since it was founded in 2009 by academic researchers and the Open Technology Initiative, with the support of a broad range of companies and institutions. After the initial release of these data visualization tools, the data will be regularly updated to support a dynamic understanding of Internet connections and speeds around the world.

Participants

Opening Remarks
Sascha Meinrath
Director, Open Technology Initiative
New America Foundation

Featured Speaker
Vinton G. Cerf
Vice President and Chief Internet Evangelist
Google

Panelists
Anne Neville
Director, State Broadband Data & Development Grant Program & National Broadband Mapping Program
US Department of Commerce, National Telecommunications and Information Administration
 
Taylor Reynolds
Specialist Analyst
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

Michael Byrne
Geographic Information Officer
Federal Communications Commission