One thousand volunteers in Malta are needed to take part in a research project to measure broadband performance in Malta.
The project, which is supported by the European Commission, forms part of a wider research project being run by Sam Knows spread across all EU member states and three other non-member European countries. Only Maltese citizens are eligile to take in the competition from Malta.
Sam Knows is offering the first 500 volunteers registering to take part in this research the chance to win an iPad2. Volunteers can sign up through an online registration form found at www.samknows.eu/mt/ipad.
Selected volunteers signing up will be sent a free device called a Whitebox to plug into their home internet connection to test the broadband performance provided by the volunteer’s respective internet service provider.
The device plugs into the home network by simply connecting it to the existing home router/gateway and any fixed connections are then plugged into the Whitebox.
When the broadband line is not in use, the Whitebox will run a series of automated tests to measure the speed and performance of the connection. The schedule of tests has been designed to gather as much data as possible, without interrupting the network flow.
This device monitors the home network traffic levels to ensure that the tests only run when the user is not using the internet. It does not collect any personal information, or take any data on what is actually being done online.
This research will help build a pan-European picture of broadband provision to enable planning for the future, and offer transparency for consumers paying for broadband connectivity.
Volunteers taking part in the research will also receive a monthly report card on the performance of their ISP that compares what the actual data flow is, with what has been bought and benchmarked against the whole panel. This report card can be used by ISPs to diagnose any issues with connections and improve the performance.
For more information about Sam Knows, the Whitebox device or the iPad2 competition visit the site www.samknows.com or e-mail team@samknows.com.