Friday, February 6, 2015

FCC recognizes CA Mobile Testing & CalSPEED

We were happy see mention of our mobile testing results and our CalSPEED comparison with Ookla and the FCC's speed test app in the FCC's 2015 Broadband Progress Report and Notice of Inquiry (FCC-15-10):


"There is also evidence in the record of “a new, and growing, digital divide for mobile broadband – between urban, rural and Tribal demographics.”395 A study of data collected by CalSPEED concludes that the bulk of California’s mobile networks are not ready to support VoIP and that mobile broadband service for rural and Tribal areas in California is “materially less robust” in terms of “coverage, throughput, reliability, streaming media capability and wireless technology” than in urban areas." p. 66


"CPUC has found that its methodology yields more realistic results than the methodologies that the FCC and Ookla currently use.”). p. 41 

We are proud of the work by all who contributed to this effort, including those at the Commission, California State University Chico, California State University Monterey Bay, and the NTIA. The NTIA's State Broadband Initiative funded both mobile testing projects, which has paved a way for states to validate mobile broadband coverage. Rest assured that the program is continuing beyond the period of the grant, which ended January 31.


Monday, February 2, 2015

How Will New FCC Broadband Standard Affect Mobile "Served" Coverage?

At the end of January, the FCC adopted their 2015 Broadband Progress Report, which called for changing the definition of "advanced services" to to 25 Mb/s down and 3 Mb/s up (collectively, "25/3"). The study estimates that over half of all rural Americans lack access to these higher speeds.

We estimate that roughly 7% of California households lack access to 25/3, which is in line with the FCC's estimate.