Test Your Broadband & Tell the Feds

Do you have broadband access to the Internet? Do you wonder about the speed and how it compares with other parts of the province and country?

Well, here's an opportunity for you. The federal government program called Broadband Canada: Connecting Rural Canadians is asking for consumer and ISP provider feedback to establish where broadband access is available and about the level of service.

You can participate by running a speed test and submitting the results. It's pretty simple and actually quite interesting. Communities without Boundaries did this kind of an exercise in Alberta last year and the results showed variation in service around the province.

The feedback being solicited now is described as the "first step" to "get a clear picture of where broadband services are available, and where they are not. Industry Canada is working with other levels of government and the private sector to define a detailed map of service availability."

Be aware that this feedback is only being used for information purposes in the design of the broadband program, "and will not necessarily change the availability of high-speed Internet in your area." But there is money available to expand broadband access and that program will be rolled out later in the year.