Speed Tests Could Help Improve Broadband Oversight, Ookla Executive Says

WASHINGTON, Oct. 8, 2025 — As billions in federal broadband funding move toward deployment, one company’s familiar tool could become key in verifying how well those investments pay off.

Bryan Darr, vice president of government affairs at Ookla, said the company’s Speedtest data offers valuable, real-time insights into broadband performance at the local level — information that could help state and federal officials track progress under the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program.

Darr joined Gary Bolton, president and CEO of the Fiber Broadband Association, on this week’s Fiber for Breakfast webcast and discussed how crowd-sourced speed measurements can help governments monitor network quality and ensure accountability as billions in broadband infrastructure funding roll out nationwide.

Darr emphasized that while no homes have yet been connected with BEAD funds, state broadband offices are deep into planning, mapping, and early-stage project development.

Ookla has partnered with several states to build custom dashboards using Esri’s ArcGIS platform. The dashboards display metrics such as download and upload speeds, latency, and jitter across counties and census block groups. That data could allow state broadband offices to identify which regions are improving, holding steady, or falling behind.

Darr cautioned that broadband networks require continuous monitoring to keep up with adoption and usage growth.

Darr warned that broadband networks must be tracked closely as adoption rises. When networks are first built, he said, adoption might be only 30 or 40 percent — but as more users come online and demand for video and gaming grows, networks can struggle to keep up. “If there’s not enough capacity, then add more people onto the system, that’s when you start to see degradation in the user experience,” he said.

Ookla’s data also helps compare the performance of fiber, cable, fixed wireless, and satellite technologies. Darr pointed to Starlink as an example: Rural users often report higher speeds than customers in congested urban areas, where demand can lead to slowdowns and surcharges.

Bolton raised a concern relevant to state broadband leaders: how can states hold satellite providers like Starlink and Amazon Kuiper accountable for meeting BEAD performance benchmarks?

Darr said federal guidance gives providers a grace period to meet required service levels but acknowledged that fiber networks could retain an advantage concerning capacity.