The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is calling on thousands of Australians to volunteer to take part in a program that will measure and compare broadband speeds across the country.
ACCC plans to install hardware-based devices in around 4000 households over four years, beginning with around 2000 volunteers in the first year. These devices will perform remote testing to determine typical speeds on fixed-line NBN services at various times throughout the day, the commission says.
“Australians spend over $4 billion a year on fixed broadband services and currently many consumers are left angry, frustrated, and dissatisfied by services that don’t deliver the peak speeds that are promised,” said ACCC acting chair Delia Rickard, announcing the plan.
“The volunteers will be helping to produce accurate, transparent and comparable information about the quality and reliability of the fixed-line broadband services available in their area. This will lead to more competition and better value for money for broadband services.”
The commission said the program should also help it determine if issues relating to poor speeds at peak times are being caused by NBN performance or network management decisions made by Internet service providers.
