Not a lot of choice, but there’s room for a brief comment at the end.
If you don’t think your broadband provider is telling the truth, or if just want to say how happy you are with the service you’re getting, you can now add your comments to the California Broadband Availability map, published by the California Public Utilities Commission.
Initially restricted to regional broadband consortia, the public comment feature of the CPUC’s map is now open to anyone. The easiest way – assuming you can get online in the first place – is to go to the map, and click…
on the address lookup tool, which is shaped like a house. A list of broadband providers who report that they provide service in the area will appear on the screen, along with the type of broadband service and speeds they offer. When this list appears, you will find in the upper left corner a link, labeled ‘Send Feedback.’ Please click this link and a survey will appear on your screen.
You’re then walked through a series of questions, asking whether the location is a home or business, if you get broadband service now and from which provider. Then you have a choice of checking a box either saying your service meets your needs or indicating what, if anything, you’d like to see improved: download speeds, upload speeds or both. You also can say how satisfied or not you are with what you’re getting. Finally you can add a short (about three tweets worth) commentary of your own and send it to the CPUC. Staff there will process the information and post it at some point in the future.
Your other options for comment are using the CalSpeed mobile app, which automatically uploads the results of mobile speed tests you run to the CPUC servers, or filling out a paper form and mailing it in. The paper survey actually lets you submit more detailed information than the online version, including speed test results from your home connection.