Ofcom UK Broadband Research Deal grabbed by Samknows

Ofcom, the telecommunications regulator of the United Kingdom has awarded to Samknows a deal to collect internet data, research and analyse in the United Kingdom. Samknows is a website, which has the history of collaborating with the regulator in 2008 to develop a method to benchmark broadband providers in the United Kingdom.

Interestingly, a white box has been developed by Samknows that can be engaged in the home of the consumer to track the performance of the person’s broadband internet connection continuously. The consumer can consult the collected data using the box similar to a utility meter.

According to Alex Salter, the chief executive officer of Samknows in the forthcoming project they were looking to measure how the performance of the ISPs could improve as users switched to services that were being advertised as super fast.

The trials initially carried out across one thousand six hundred broadband connections in 2008 revealed that the average countrywide broadband access speed was just 4.3Mbps. This was something just above half what internet service providers based on ADSL technology have been promising.

However, it was pointed out by a popular broadband comparison website that the Whitebox could use data worth up to 2GB from the consumer’s quota as it received and transmitted data. Therefore, the website has advised the volunteers strongly not to carry on with it if the person has only a minimal usage allowance.