FCC planning to report mobile broadband speeds

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission announced today it will begin reporting mobile broadband speeds and performance, much in the same way the government agency does with home broadband services.

The idea is simple: the FCC wants to know -- and publish -- exactly what mobile broadband speeds users are getting versus the service that users are paying for. Because let's be honest: not all of us are getting the speeds we actually pay for, as discovered with previous FCC landline reports.

Not only will it name and shame mobile network providers that fail to live up to customer expectations, it should spark competition among other players in the sector who are out for more than just strong revenue earnings and profit.

"We know from experience: Transparency on broadband speeds drives improvement in broadband speeds," said FCC chairman Julius Genachowski in a statement.

The plan is part of the FCC's National Broadband Plan, and the cream of the mobile network providers crop is understandably supporting such efforts. Members of the CTIA, the international wireless telecoms association that represents its members to the U.S. government -- including AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon among others -- has also thrown its weight behind the proposed plan.

On September 21, the FCC will hold an open meeting to discuss how to acquire and analyze the data. (No word back from the FCC on whether they will provide coffee and nibbles.)