Our Principles
We thought we’d share those principles and how they help us maintain quality in regulatory projects. And, because we like to show and not just tell… we’ve included some examples of the work we’ve done that’s demonstrated our commitment to these philosophies.
Here is how we do business:
Independent
The SamKnows platform is run, managed, developed and hosted by SamKnows – ensuring it is completely independent.
When conducting regulatory projects, the information collected is precious. So, knowing there are no third parties interfering with the data we manage helps our clients rest easy and feel secure.
Accurate
Any data collected must be accurate, to ensure results are reliable, valid and trusted by all stakeholders participating in the project.
All of the measurement methodology is published, all data is released. Every project is run as a collaborative endeavour to ensure that all tests are assessed and approved by academia, standards bodies, application providers and the ISPs themselves. We constantly monitor our test platform and identify any faults in realtime. We also check all data with a high degree of precision so our clients can rely on our analysis and insights to make impactful decisions.
Proprietary
Data collected is owned by the regulator, with no restrictions on usage.
Once all the statistics are collated and presented to the regulator on a project, the data is theirs. And understandably, this data has heavy relevance across most, or all sectors of administration, whether it be in education, social services, or otherwise. The FCC in the U.S. even releases data from the Measuring Broadband America program we do in collaboration with them monthly.
Best in Class
A measurement methodology that is open to review by industry experts, academics, key stakeholders and standards boards ensures it is the best-in-class for measuring real consumer experience.
To make sure our methods for testing internet performance are up to par, we run collaborative groups that involve review by academics, ISPs, and performance monitoring experts.
Impactful
Internet measurement programs should bring about real and meaningful improvements for a country.
Since 2018, we’ve been working with New Zealand’s Commerce Commission to bring better internet to all New Zealanders. The programme has since increased Fibre Max data speeds by 35%. Read more about Measuring Broadband New Zealand.
Compliant (Privacy)
We use government grade systems and test agents designed to safeguard user privacy and focus on measurement data only.
In the work we’ve done on Mobile apps, for example, we ensure data is collected completely anonymously by making every test unique, so we cannot link a test to a single person or device.
Comprehensive
Measurements should be based on applications and services that real people use, giving a broader and truer sense of the state of the internet.
We make sure that the internet performance tests we develop are reflective of real human interactivity. To get accurate results, we must test to real individuals’ homes. A great example of this unique testing providing insightful data for real-world impact is the Meqyas report. Our testing of online games in Saudi Arabia helped the kingdom discover key ways to improve broadband performance for their generation of gamers.
Insightful
Reporting and analysis should provide insight and understanding, helping educate consumers or used to drive change.
This year, we did a study on web performance for the ACCC (released with report 13) that tried to explain to consumers why web performance mattered and what impact it could have on them. We’re not just providing a set of numbers, we’re providing insight for change!
Innovative
Measuring a dynamic industry means constant innovation. This ensures that regulators measure what really matters and have data on key trends.
Societal circumstance is a key factor in internet-use. So when COVID hit in 2020, we rolled out a full suite of Quality of Experience tests for the things people would be doing more of. Video conferencing became especially ubiquitous, along with video streaming and gaming… and for big networks, FaultFinder was a loyal and intuitive source for detecting anomalies, and keeping people connected during lockdown.
Responsive
A responsive, experienced team that can adapt to the regulator’s requirements is imperative in ensuring critical data can be captured and used.
When the pandemic erupted last year, governments didn’t have much data on how well the internet was holding up, so we did critical service trackers for various regulatory clients, to provide them with reliable critical data – quickly.
Free from Marketing
Regulatory programs should not be vehicles through which to advertise or market goods. Testing agents should be freely available and designed for purpose.
Our job is to help us understand the internet better, and help improve it. Miscellaneous third-party advertisements when conducting regulatory studies do not fit within that doctrine. So, we leave them out!
Get in touch
We are actively looking for new countries to add to our global platform. If you want to improve internet performance in your country, please get in touch.