FCC need volunteers for Internet study

Federal regulators want to know just how fast you're surfing, and they're looking for 10,000 volunteers to submit to a speed check.

Four out of five high-speed Internet users don't know how fast their home connections are, according to a report released recently by the Federal Communications Commission.

That leaves those consumers unsure whether they're getting what they're paying for, and it hinders them in shopping for better service from competing Internet service providers, agency officials said.

"Speed matters," said FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, who has pushed for more consumer information about broadband service as part of a larger effort to expand high-speed Internet access nationwide.

In its National Broadband Plan released in March, the FCC asserted that consumers can easily determine a vehicle's fuel efficiency or the nutritional content of most foods from labels with standardized information, but they have little information about the speed of their Internet service.

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