Your help is needed to improve rural broadband

Help Ofcom find out more about rural broadband experience by joining its research panel.

Ofcom exists to make communications markets work for everyone. One of the ways Ofcom does its job is by conducting research to find out about the customer experience across the UK.

Each year it reports its findings in its flagship Connected Nations report which provides a snapshot of the state of communications networks.

To inform this and wider work, Ofcom is calling for volunteers to sign up to join its expanded research panel of broadband customers. Ofcom is particularly looking to sign up more people who live in rural areas in order find out more about the challenges they face.

Volunteers are encouraged to sign up via Ofcom's partner's website. Those volunteers who meet Ofcom's sample requirements will be sent a unit to plug into a mains socket and connect to their home broadband router.

Further details of the sign-up process are set out below.

1. Broadband users sign up to take part in the research by completing an online form on SamKnows, Ofcom's technical partner's website.
2. SamKnows compares these volunteers to Ofcom's sample plan, which is designed to ensure that the panel is statistically robust and nationally representative. Please note that not all of those who volunteer to take part in the research will be selected.
3. Those who fit Ofcom's sample plan will be asked to complete an online end-user licence agreement.
4. Volunteers are then sent a whitebox hardware measurement unit that they plug into a mains socket and connect to their home broadband router using the provided cable.

Please note that the whitebox will not interfere with the panellist's use of their connection as it only runs tests when the connection is not in use, and it does not monitor what the panellist uses their connection for.

If you have any questions or would like further information about this work, please contact Jose Kurian at [email protected]