AT&T convinces FCC to let it use own Internet speed testing service

San Francisco, Dec 14 (IANS) Seems like US telecom major AT&T does not want users to see its unflattering Internet speed results and that is why it has convinced the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to stop using a third-party speed testing service and instead use its own.

“AT&T this year told the commission it will no longer cooperate with the FCC’s SamKnows speed test. Instead, it said it plans to use its own measurement tool, which it believes to be more accurate, to report performance to the government,” The Wall Street Journal recently reported.

The FCC started the “Measuring Broadband America” initiative in 2011 to compare the actual speeds customers receive to the advertised speeds customers are promised.

The Commission released annual reports through 2016, but the testing programme has gotten less attention since Ajit Pai became chairman in January 2017, according to Ars Technica.

The carrier major has persuaded the FCC to exclude certain DSL test results from last year’s “Measuring Broadband America” report.

Major carrier providers have persuaded the FCC to remove unfavourable data, including individual houses with poor scores, blaming faulty equipment.

They have successfully argued to exclude test days when heavy traffic slowed scores, such as during NFL games or when Apple Inc. pushed a new software update. Reasons for the deletions aren’t always included in the FCC reports, The WSJ report added.