[123664] in North American Network Operators' Group
Re: FCC releases Internet speed test tool
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Steven Bellovin)
Fri Mar 12 14:22:44 2010
From: Steven Bellovin <smb@cs.columbia.edu>
In-Reply-To: <20100312105751.2C06AC65@resin16.mta.everyone.net>
Date: Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:22:03 -0500
To: surfer@mauigateway.com
Cc: nanog@nanog.org
Errors-To: nanog-bounces+nanog.discuss=bloom-picayune.mit.edu@nanog.org
On Mar 12, 2010, at 1:57 PM, Scott Weeks wrote:
>=20
>=20
> --- tme@americafree.tv wrote:
> From: Marshall Eubanks <tme@americafree.tv>
>=20
> This might be useful to some. Article :
> http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE62B08720100312
>=20
> site :http://www.broadband.gov/
>=20
> It requires giving your address.
> -----------------------------------------------
>=20
>=20
> Nah, no real address needed. Just use 123 elm street abbeville =
alabama=20
> 36310. That's the first zip code I found on a site... ;-)
What they really need is something more or less like an accurate zip =
code, I suspect. They want to find out what real "broadband" speeds are =
in different parts of the country. Putting in a fake address renders =
your data useless. One can ask why they aren't using IP geolocation; I =
suspect it's because it's not accurate enough. Your address? They may =
be interested in how many cable-feet you are from a CO, for DSL linkes.
Now -- under the Privacy Act, if they're collecting addresses I believe =
they had to do a Privacy Impact Assessment. Since I can't imagine why =
it would be classified, it should be publicly available. I don't see =
it, but I don't have time today to look for it.
--Steve Bellovin, http://www.cs.columbia.edu/~smb
