County Introduces New Online Survey Tool to Measure Internet Speed

For Immediate Release: Wednesday, June 28, 2017

County Executive Ike Leggett and Council Vice President Hans Riemer today announced the launch of a new Web-based civic engagement tool, CheckSpeedMontgomery.com, and urge residents to take the survey. With the introduction of this website, the County hopes to learn about the quality of internet service received by residents and businesses.

CheckSpeedMontgomery.com tests internet speed; collects and shares user-generated information about broadband service rates, quality, and customer satisfaction. The data gathered from this website will help the County better understand where residents and businesses access high-quality internet service and where service may need improvement.

“Ensuring consistent, high-speed broadband connectivity is critical to an enhanced quality of life for residents; access to necessary tools for our students; and a strong infrastructure for businesses,” said Leggett. “Having residents share their internet speeds, helps the County identify areas where the community is not receiving advertised speeds and helps the County identify underserved parts of our community.”

The County expects to leverage this information to partner with non-governmental sectors, including the County’s commercial telecommunications infrastructure and services providers, to improve services throughout the County.  Results of the survey will be discussed in public forums and in meetings with cellular carriers, cable franchisees, and right-of-way operators to foster a participative and collaborative approach to achieving improvements in the coming months.

“It’s no secret that availability of high-speed networks has become as important as roads and other types of infrastructure,” said Riemer. “As we plan our future initiatives on wireless and wireline broadband infrastructure, it’s important to understand where we are strong and where our residents and business need improvements.”

Residents can visit CheckSpeedMontgomery.com from most devices to take the free survey. The data provided will be available publicly through the site and later at data.montgomerycountymd.gov.

“It takes approximately two to four minutes to complete the survey and will help the County identify which general areas within the County may need improved services and digital connectivity for residents,” said Sonny Segal, chief information officer, for the County’s Department of Technology Services.

This test does not collect browsing information such as web searches. Using an interactive map, survey data will be available for download. The survey will look at results by area not by individual so there will be no loss of privacy.  In planning improvements, the County and service providers will want to know how constituents are currently using broadband and what deficiencies they may be experiencing. 

At the request of Riemer, CheckSpeedMontgomery.com was developed through a partnership between PowerUp Labs and the Department of Technology Services, and the survey is available in several languages spoken in the County.

For more information about this new, online survey and how you can participate, visit CheckSpeedMontgomery.com.

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Release ID: 17-439
Media Contact: Phil Roter 240.777.2886