Sam Knows has partnered with the European Commission to supply local consumers with a standalone device called Whitebox (enabled routers) to measure broadband performance across Malta.

Sam Knows is looking for 1,000 volunteers in Malta to join the research, which is part of a pan-European project spread across the EU and in Croatia, Iceland and Norway.

As a token of gratitude, Sam Knows is offering the first 500 volunteers who register to take part in this research the chance to win an iPad2. Volunteers sign up through an online registration form found at www.samknows.eu/mt/ipad.

Seeing a need for accurate measurement of internet services across the EU, Sam Knows developed the Whitebox, which consumers plug into their home network and test the broadband performance provided by their internet service provider.

The Whitebox runs a series of network performance tests against a schedule designed to gather as much data as possible, without interrupting the network flow.

The Whitebox plugs into the home network by simply connecting it to the existing home router/ gateway and plug any fixed connections into the Whitebox. The 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 any data on what is actually being done online.

Selected volunteers will be sent a free Whitebox to plug into their home internet connection. 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.

Users will also get 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 visit www.samknows.com.