Internet speed test launched to better connect people

The results of the Internet speed test in Douglas County. You can participate on www.nevadaspeedtest.org

Residents of western Nevada are invited to participate in a broadband speed test to determine where the least served and underserved homes and businesses are located.

However, in order to participate in www.nevadaspeedtest.org, they have to be able to connect, you know, to the Internet.

The Western Nevada Development District is teaming up with local governments to launch the speed test to determine where the state’s most underserved places are.

Connectivity is the cornerstone of business, education, financial literacy, access to employment and health care through telemedicine.

The Speed ​​Test is a charting tool that measures internet speeds. By analyzing home and business connectivity, strategies can be identified and financing solutions sought that improve regional broadband infrastructure.

The Nevada Speed ​​Test is a core component of the Western Nevada Broadband Initiative, a coalition of local government members of the WNDD that engages in regional economic development planning. The objective is to collect data in all the communities served by the Development District.

The speed test and mapping hardware was created by GEO Partners LLC, a Minnesota-based technology company that analyzes real-time internet speed data by collecting speed test information from residents. GEO is an independent broadband data collection and analysis company with extensive experience and not affiliated with Internet Service Providers (ISPs).

The Nevada Speed ​​Test can be performed on any device that has an Internet or cellular connection and takes less than a minute. Residents are only encouraged to take the speed test from their residence, place of business or school.

Everyone’s participation is essential. No personal information will be collected. Repeated speed tests are encouraged during the one-year initiative to better capture variations in internet speeds and collect statistically more valid data.

The speed test information will be overlaid on the GIS data layers for the region and will help identify the areas most in need of reliable and affordable access to broadband service. The tool can also create project cost estimates, measuring everything from topography to types of fiber construction methods and materials.

The Western Nevada Broadband Initiative will make this data available to local government partners to better provide the services citizens need and to use the date to enter federal grants.

“The Western Nevada Broadband Initiative wants this map information to be made available to decision makers so that they can provide the service their citizens need,” said Heidi Lusby-Angvick, director of the Economic Development Authority of Canada. Pershing County. “This speed testing and mapping initiative will also provide information so that we can be more competitive in grant applications.”

Members of the Western Nevada Broadband Initiative include the Town of Reno, the Town of Sparks. Town of Fernley. Town of Lovelock, Town of Fallon, Town of Winnemucca, County of Douglas, County of Washoe, County of Storey, County of Mineral, County of Pershing and County of Humboldt. Marketing partners include the Nevada Farm Bureau and Nevada Rural Housing Authority and associate members of WMDD.