Chairman Pai isn’t saying whether ISPs deliver the broadband speeds you pay for

Nearly two years have passed since the Federal Communications Commission reported on whether broadband customers are getting the Internet speeds they pay for. In 2011, the Obama-era FCC began measuring broadband speeds in nearly 7,000 consumer homes as part of the then-new Measuring Broadband America program. Each year from 2011 to 2016, the FCC released an annual report comparing the actual speeds customers received to the advertised speeds customers were promised by Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Verizon, AT&T, and other large Internet service providers (ISPs). But the FCC hasn't released any new Measuring Broadband America reports since Ajit Pai became Chairman in Jan 2017. Pai's first year as chair was the first time the FCC failed to issue a new Measuring Broadband America report since the program started—though the FCC could release a new report before his second year as chair is complete.

For more than three months, Ars has been trying to find out whether the FCC is still analyzing Measuring Broadband America data and whether the FCC plans to release any more measurement reports. SamKnows, the measurement company used by the FCC for this program, said that Measuring Broadband America is still active and that a new report is forthcoming, hopefully in Dec. But whether the report is released is up to the FCC, and Chairman Pai's public relations office has ignored questions about the program. "I can't think of a single legitimate explanation for why the FCC hasn't released a new Measuring Broadband America report in the nearly two years since Ajit Pai has been the chair," said Benton senior fellow Gigi Sohn.