Vermont launches VT Speed Check so residents can test their internet
Interstate 89 in Vermont. The new VT Speed Check site is meant to show, from tests around the state, how internet connections actually perform. Photo: Ronofthedead07, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
The Vermont Community Broadband Board has opened a new statewide website that lets residents test their internet speeds, see how those results look on a map, and find basic advice when a connection is lagging.
The board announced VT Speed Check on Oct. 6, describing a site where people can run a speed test, view a map that anonymously aggregates those tests, and use tools and tips meant to help them understand or fix problems with their service. Officials asked Vermonters to test at different times of day and on different days of the week, saying more tests will give a clearer picture of coverage.
Broadband Breakfast, writing later in October, called the launch a way for residents and businesses to check their speeds and to follow the spread of high-speed access as the state’s communications union districts build new networks. The trade publication framed the aggregated results as “ground truth” that can help show where investment is still needed.
The Public Service Department posted a link to the site and a step-by-step video from Montpelier. The tool is a measuring stick, not a construction project: it does not, by itself, hook anyone up. What it can do is show, in public, whether the connection coming into a house matches what a customer thinks they are paying for, and whether some corners of the state still look thin once enough people run the test.
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