mSpeed

Cellular data networks are increasingly being used for Internet  access. Various analysts suggest that the number of mobile Internet  users will soon surpass the number of conventional fixed-line Internet  users. No doubt, understanding the quality of Internet connectivity  provided by currently deployed cellular data networks is important for  all stakeholders including the users, operators, and policy planners.  Towards facilitating the aforementioned, we have developed smartphone applications for both Android and iOS platforms that can perform a  range of network measurements and diagnostics such as upload/download  bandwidths, latency to landmarks, DNS resolution times, and  identification of NATs. Widespread use of our application will enable  ”crowdsourcing” wherein measurements from different users and networks  can be studied and compared. For example, crowdsourcing allows a user  to compare his or her average upload/download bandwidth with that of  other users using the same operator, and also with those achieved by  users of other competing operators. We believe the data available from  use of our application will provide valuable insights on the state of  today’s cellular data networks.