Australian Government Bricks Thousands of Test Routers

Thousands of SamKnows routers were rendered inoperable last week following the conclusion of a government-sponsored broadband testing program. In 2020, the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC), acting as the Australian government's chief competition regulator, distributed these routers to thousands of volunteers. The initiative, known as the Measuring Broadband Australia (MBA) program, aimed to collect data on the speed and performance of broadband plans across Australia, particularly focusing on fixed-line services provided over the NBN (Australia's government-owned wholesale open-access broadband network) and other access networks.

According to the ACCC's final report, the routers were whitebox devices supplied by SamKnows. These devices were designed to conduct internet performance tests by connecting to test servers maintained by SamKnows and hosted within Australia. The program relied on these volunteers to provide real-world data on broadband quality. However, upon the program's completion, the routers were reportedly deactivated, effectively turning them into unusable devices for the volunteers who had contributed to the data collection effort.

The ACCC has acknowledged the situation and is advising volunteers to dispose of the routers. The program's objective was to provide independent insights into the performance of broadband services, enabling consumers to make more informed choices and encouraging service providers to improve their offerings. The data gathered was intended to inform policy decisions and industry standards. The unexpected deactivation of the routers has left many volunteers with obsolete hardware, despite their participation in a government initiative.