Internet connection slower than advertised? FCC has a plan, and a test

The Federal Communications Commission's huge plan for broadband would require Internet service providers to disclose their average broadband speed, "rather than the current practice of promising speeds 'up to' a certain rate," David Lazarus writes for the Los Angeles Times. "What many consumers now get 'is often much less than the advertised peak speed,' the FCC says.

In an apparent first for a government agency, the FCC is offering a way for Internet users to test their connection speed. "All you have to do is go to Broadband.gov and click the link for “consumer broadband test.” An important component of the test is that you have to fill in your address. This will enable the FCC to pinpoint locations with particularly slow or fast access speeds (and, by extension, to hold local service providers more accountable)," Lazarus writes.