My upload speed is 608kpbs, which isn't very fast. Latency is 104ms and jitter is 108ms. These last two numbers appear to be suboptimal, as high-quality video conferencing demands a latency of 20ms. Jitter of less than 30ms is considered excellent. (Read what these numbers mean and about the mechanics of the FCC broadband test .)

According to the Broadband.gov site, latency is "the time it takes for data to be sent from your computer to the testing server and back (the 'round trip time')." Jitter is "the variability in the delay between your computer and the testing server."

The above numbers were provided by , the FCC's primary contractor for the speed tests. A second test, using , which also provides the FCC with testing, found virtually the same upload/download speed as MLAB, but latency and jitter were a much-improved 13 and 3ms, respectively.

With the FCC's proposed due out on March 17, it's good to see the FCC offering tools to help customers.