The ILR has regulated the telecoms sector in Luxembourg for the past twenty years, presenting its new ‘Checkmynet’ tool in April last year. On Tuesday, the ILR presented its first annual report for the tool.
The ILR’s director, Luc Tapella, explained that the tool measures internet access quality in Luxembourg, regulating both mobile data networks and fixed networks. Last year, the tool was used 150,000 times. More than half of its uses came from fixed connections alongside 13% checking mobile networks.
The annual report suggests the tool is used frequently, Tapella said. With an average of 10,000 checks a month, the ILR is able to continuously examine the quality of the service in Luxembourg. Tapella said it is important for different residents to use the tool to check their internet speed: if more residents test their internet speed, the ILR has more data to analyse the quality of internet in Luxembourg and the evolution of the market.
The tool’s purpose is also to allow internet users to see if their internet speed corresponds to the speed guaranteed in their contract. Generally, Tapella estimated, the internet quality in Luxembourg is superior to its neighbours. On average, Luxembourgers have a download speed of 100 megabytes per second (Mbit/s) and an upload speed of 40 Mbit/s.
As for the future of the tool, Tapella is convinced it will continue to evolve, citing the increase in quality tests seen in the second edition.
The ILR will continue to adapt the tool based on how internet use evolves. As an example, Tapella explained the Checkmynet tool examines the speed of 2G, 3G, and 4G networks but 5G will also soon be on the horizon.
The tool also works outside of Luxembourg and is mainly used in the Greater Region. The ILR has released its new edition of the tool this past weekend, which offer six tests for internet users to understand and verify their internet speed in different domains, such as sending messages or watching videos.
