OTTAWA–GATINEAU – The CRTC is once again seeking volunteers to help it measure the performance of home wireline broadband Internet services provided by the country’s major Internet service providers.
Under the Measuring Broadband Canada program, the Commission will work in collaboration with ISPs and broadband testing firm SamKnows to measure broadband performance and test parameters associated with the broadband Internet connection, including download and upload speeds.
While some providers offer advertised speeds of 1Gbps or faster, services above 940Mbps cannot be measured with a conventional speed test, meaning that speed tiers of 1Gbps or faster are excluded from the 2019 Measuring Broadband Canada project.
Participants will receive a 'Whitebox' device that they will connect to their modem or router. The Whitebox will periodically run measurement tests when users are not actively using their Internet connection, but will not collect any information on online activities. Canadians who wish to participate can apply by completing an online form.
The Commission said that the results will provide it – as well as ISPs and Canadians, with a better understanding of whether consumers of broadband services from participating ISPs are getting the advertised speeds they expect (and pay for). According to reports in 2016, participating ISPs largely met or exceeded their advertised download and upload speeds.
Participating ISPs this time around include Bell Canada, Bell Aliant, Bell MTS, Cogeco, Northwestel, Rogers, Shaw, Telus, and Videotron.
