Rogers Hires Independent Third Party to Conduct In-Home Testing of
Customer Broadband Speeds
Testing to provide additional measurement as part of
company's commitment to delivering World-Leading Internet
Experiences
TORONTO,
Nov. 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ - Rogers
Communications announced today it has signed an agreement with
SamKnows Ltd., an independent world leader in broadband performance
testing, to conduct ongoing measurement of broadband internet
speed, based on customer data collected in the home.
"With Internet usage exploding, speed is more important than
ever to the customer experience," said John
Boynton, EVP and Chief Marketing Officer, Rogers
Communications. "We are committing to long-term in-home testing as
an additional quality measure to ensure customers are getting
world-leading Internet experiences. We encourage other
ISPs to do the same."
Rogers has invested more than $10
billion in network infrastructure. Working with SamKnows,
which has performed testing for international regulators including
the FCC in the U.S. and Ofcom in the U.K., Rogers will have the
ability to measure actual customers' Hi Speed Internet speeds on a
consistent basis. This testing is complementary to
existing testing the company conducts.
Using a custom hardware device called a Whitebox that simply
plugs-in to a customer's existing internet connection, SamKnows
will measure Internet upload and download performance as well as
other key performance indicators such as latency.
"We are excited to have this opportunity to bring the proven
SamKnows methodology for measuring broadband speeds to Canada," says Alex
Salter, Chairman of SamKnows. "We will be testing the actual
Internet speeds Canadians experience in their homes. We are
pleased that Rogers is the first Canadian ISP to commit to such a
large home-based testing program."
Today's announcement is the latest in a series of initiatives
Rogers has made to help customers be confident that they are
getting world-leading Internet experiences. Earlier
this year, Rogers engaged LeMay-Yates to conduct research to help
give a more accurate look at how Canada's actual broadband speeds stacked up on
a global scale relative to advertised speeds. The report
found Canada ranked within the top
10 countries internationally for fastest Internet speeds
delivered. In addition, Rogers announced it would phase out
its Internet Traffic Management Policy, which was designed to
manage peer-to-peer Internet uploaded traffic. This phase out is on
track to be completed by the end of 2012. Most recently, Rogers
announced that it is working towards SysTrust Certification of its
Hi-Speed Internet Data Meter Systems with PricewaterhouseCoopers
LLP (PwC). This certification process includes evaluating the
processes Rogers uses to measure customer Hi-Speed Internet data
usage.
About SamKnows
SamKnows has established itself as the leading authority on
broadband service availability and independent broadband
performance testing.
Founded in 2008 and operating from London, United Kingdom, this privately held
and independent company continues to build out its global
measurement platform, creating a standard for broadband performance
measurement. As part of its work with the FCC (USA), Ofcom (UK), the European Commission,
Anatel (Brazil), and the IDA
(Singapore), SamKnows is working
with governments, industry leaders and academics worldwide to
create a methodology and test platform that measures every aspect
of broadband and network performance. For further information about
SamKnows, please visit www.samknows.com
About Rogers Communications:
Rogers Communications is a diversified Canadian communications
and media company. We are Canada's
largest provider of wireless voice and data communications services
and one of Canada's leading
providers of cable television, high speed internet and telephony
services. Through Rogers Media we are engaged in radio and
television broadcasting, televised shopping, magazines and trade
publications, sports entertainment, and digital media. We are
publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: RCI.A and
RCI.B) and on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: RCI). For further
information about the Rogers group of companies, please
visit rogers.com.
SOURCE Rogers Communications Inc.