FCC unveils new app to test accuracy of a provider's broadband coverage

July 23 (UPI) -- The Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday revealed the launch of a new app that allows U.S. consumers to test their mobile broadband speed in order to gauge the accuracy of a provider's mobile coverage range.

"In today's digital world, a fast and reliable Internet connection is essential for everything from education to healthcare to work and staying connected with family and friends," FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel said in a news release .

The FCC's new app features will include a "repeated test" function that will allow users to conduct tests repeatedly without a need to enter and certify information before each individual test, allowing for hands-free mobile tests while driving.

It replaces the FCC's original "Speed Test" app as part of the commissions' Broadband Data Collection program, enabling U.S. users to get "free, open and transparent information about the performance of their mobile network," according to the FCC, which has the mandate to protect the interest of American consumers.

And it will include an in-app map overlay displaying the area where a test was taken, and it gives users the ability to log into the National Broadband Map to review speed test results and see it on a map.

The app's data is aimed to improve the accuracy of the mobile coverage information displayed on the agency's National Broadband Map. Rosenworcel says consumers "deserve to know where they have mobile coverage and at what speeds."

The FCC, she said, wants to include users' experience in the FCC's effort to "create a more precise map of available coverage." And the app will make it easier "to share real-world experience with connectivity, empowering consumers and making it possible for up-to-date and crowdsourced information to inform our mapping."