--- title: How the FCC Measures Home Broadband Speeds url: https://hdiss.net/guides/how-the-fcc-measures-broadband/ business: High Desert Internet Services (HDISS) phone: 775-575-9593, 775-391-5660 email: info@hdiss.net mailing_address: Home base: 200 S Virginia St, Suite 760, Reno NV 89501 (dispatch office, not a walk-in store). Mail: Billing Dept., PO Box 11353, Reno NV 89510 hours: Office open 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, seven days a week. Network watched around the clock. type: Fixed wireless internet service provider (homes and small businesses), web hosting, customer email, domain registration service_area: Northern Nevada - Washoe, Lyon, Storey, Churchill and Douglas counties and Carson City; availability is checked address by address (line of sight to a tower) plans: Bronze $50/mo up to 500 Mbps down, up to 200 Mbps up; Silver $75/mo up to 800 down, up to 200 up; Gold $99/mo up to 1 Gig down, up to 200 up; ask about the up to 1 Gig / 1 Gig ultra-low-latency service no_online_purchase: true (check your address or call; existing customers pay at https://www2.fernley.net/hdiss/onlinepay/paymentform.cfm) since: 2002 --- - [Home](https://hdiss.net/) - [Guides](https://hdiss.net/guides/) - How the FCC measures home broadband speeds # How the FCC Measures Home Broadband Speeds The FCC's Measuring Broadband America program sends small test boxes, called whiteboxes, to thousands of volunteers, and measures speed, upload and latency around the clock. Its headline numbers are medians taken during the 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. evening peak. Sagebrush prairie in the high desert. Stock photo: Adobe Stock. [Photo credits](https://hdiss.net/photo-credits/) On this page - [Who is measured, and how?](#who-is-measured-and-how) - [Why a median, and why the evening?](#why-a-median-and-why-the-evening) - [What is the 80/80 measure?](#what-is-the-80-80-measure) - [What is working latency?](#what-is-working-latency) - [How do you use this for your own test?](#how-do-you-use-this-for-your-own-test) When a news story says internet providers delivered some percent of advertised speed, it usually comes from this program. Knowing how the measurement is made helps you judge your own speed test. This guide uses the FCC's Thirteenth Measuring Broadband America report, which covers data collected in September and October 2022. ## Takeaways - Volunteer panelists receive whiteboxes, off-the-shelf routers that run test software and measure thirteen performance metrics. - The FCC's peak window is 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. local time. - The “80/80” measure asks what share of advertised speed at least 80% of panelists got, for at least 80% of the peak period. - The program samples the service tiers making up the top 80% of each participating ISP's subscribers. ## Who is measured, and how? The report calls its sample the MBA “panel.” Thousands of volunteers are drawn from the subscriber bases of participating providers. Each is sent a whitebox, which the report describes as pre-installed software on an off-the-shelf router that measures thirteen broadband performance metrics, including download speed, upload speed and latency. Because the box sits on the customer's own line, the program measures what the service delivers to a home, not what a lab shows. The sample aims to include the tiers that make up the top 80% of each provider's subscribers, so uncommon plans may be left out. That is a design limit worth remembering when you read a headline. ## Why a median, and why the evening? For each whitebox the program takes the mean of all measurements, then for each speed tier it takes the median of those means. The report defines the median as the value separating the top half of a set from the lower half, “the middle (i.e., most typical) value.” Medians are less swayed by a few unusually good or poor results. The report notes that peak operating hours have stayed the same as before the pandemic, 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. local time, even though more people work from home. Evening is when neighbors stream, game and call at the same time, so it is the fair test of a shared network. ## What is the 80/80 measure? The program also reports consistency. The 80/80 metric measures “the minimum percentage of the advertised speed experienced by at least 80% of subscribers for at least 80% of the time over peak periods.” A provider can have a good median and a poor 80/80 if results swing a lot from night to night. In the Thirteenth Report, 12 provider and technology configurations were evaluated. The advertised download speed reported was 467 Mbps, as a weighted average. Of the major providers tested, eight measured 100% or better of advertised download speed in the peak hours, and the four others delivered between 86% and 90%. By the 80/80 measure, six of the 12 were at or above their advertised speed. ## What is working latency? Latency is usually measured on an idle line. The report also gives latency under load, which it calls working latency, meaning the average delay while the service is saturated. As expected, those results are higher than idle results. This is the same effect that makes a video call stutter when someone uploads a large file, covered in our [bufferbloat guide](https://hdiss.net/guides/bufferbloat/). ## How do you use this for your own test? Borrow the program's habits. Test with a cable to the router, not Wi-Fi. Test at several times, including 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. Take several readings and look at the middle one. Write down the advertised speed next to each result. Our [speed test guide](https://hdiss.net/guides/how-to-run-a-speed-test/) shows the steps, and [what up to means](https://hdiss.net/guides/what-up-to-means/) explains why the advertised number is a ceiling. For High Desert, the plans are described as up to 500, up to 800 and up to 1 Gig down, with up to 200 Mbps up. If your evening results look low, call 775-575-9593 any day from 9 to 5 with your readings. If you are only weighing the service, send your address through the check form and a person will look at the path from the nearest tower and call you back. ### Sources - [data.fcc.gov/download/measuring-broadband-america/2023/2023-Fixed-Measuring-Broadband-Amer](https://data.fcc.gov/download/measuring-broadband-america/2023/2023-Fixed-Measuring-Broadband-America-Report.pdf) (FCC Thirteenth Measuring Broadband America Fixed Broadband Report, data from September and October 2022, read 10/15/26) - [hdiss.net/](https://hdiss.net/) (High Desert plan cards, read 10/15/26) ### Talk to a person - Call [775-575-9593](tel:7755759593) [775-391-5660](tel:7753915660) Open 9-5 every day - Email [info@hdiss.net](mailto:info@hdiss.net) [Check my address](https://hdiss.net/check-availability/#check) Local since 2002 Fixed wireless from towers in Northern Nevada. Three plans, no contracts, local support, 4.8 on Google from 36 reviews. [About High Desert](https://hdiss.net/about/) ### Keep reading - [How to run a speed test the right way](https://hdiss.net/guides/how-to-run-a-speed-test/) - [What "up to" means on an internet plan](https://hdiss.net/guides/what-up-to-means/) - [Bufferbloat: why the internet lags when someone uploads](https://hdiss.net/guides/bufferbloat/) - [What latency (ping) is and what a good number looks like](https://hdiss.net/guides/what-is-latency/) - [The internet is fine but the Wi-Fi is slow: how to tell](https://hdiss.net/guides/internet-fine-but-wifi-slow/) ## More on choosing and understanding - [What fixed wireless internet is and how it works](https://hdiss.net/guides/what-is-fixed-wireless-internet/): Fixed wireless internet is a radio link from a tower to a small antenna mounted on your home or shop, with a router inside that shares the connection over Wi-Fi. It needs no phone line or cable in the street, only a clea - [Is fixed wireless the same as satellite?](https://hdiss.net/guides/is-fixed-wireless-the-same-as-satellite/): No. Fixed wireless is a radio link from your roof to a tower a short distance away on the ground, while satellite internet sends your data up to a dish in orbit and back down again. Both use radio and both need a clear v - [What line of sight means and why we check it first](https://hdiss.net/guides/what-line-of-sight-means/): Line of sight means your roof antenna and the tower it points at can see each other, with nothing solid in between. It is checked at your address because the path is what decides whether fixed wireless works, and a town ## Questions people ask ### Does the program measure Wi-Fi? No. The whitebox is connected to the customer's router, and the program is built to measure the service delivered to the home. ### Is the report current? The Thirteenth Report covers data collected in September and October 2022, so treat it as a method guide and a dated snapshot.