Tired of users being offered half their promised speed, half-truths about traffic shaping, and constant whining by UK ISPs when customers actually use their connection, UK industry-watcher Sam Crawford developed a plan. He wants to send out 200 free open source firmware updated Linksys routers and create a reliable dataset of user disappointment. Using hardware instead of software allowed more reliable 24/7 monitoring, according to the Register. From the project FAQ:UK consumer watchdog "Which?" recently reported that users in the UK often see a third of the speed stated in advertisements. The group found that buyers of an "up to 8 Mbps" tier actually achieved 2.7Mbps on average, and some didn't see speeds any faster than 0.09Mbps. Nobody surveyed saw speeds faster than 6.7Mbps.

Here in the States, AT&T conducted a similar test for marketing purposes, but instead of routers, actually purchased 150 Comcast connections. In a presentation, AT&T then claimed they found that peak downstream speeds were between 3-4Mbps, while average downstream speeds for the users ranged between 300kbps and 400kbps, significantly less than the advertised rate of six to eight megabits per second.