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Overview
Many of Michigan's rural communities lack adequate internet access, with some areas completely unserved. This digital divide severely impacts the delivery of modern healthcare. Beyond video consultations, reliable high-speed internet is crucial for the functionality of home medical devices that require constant connectivity. When internet connections are unstable or unavailable, these vital healthcare technologies cannot operate effectively, potentially compromising patient care and health outcomes for rural patients.
How to participate
You can participate in two ways:
- Complete the speed test embedded below.
- Request a speed test device that automatically runs the test and provides you and your community leaders with data throughout the day and across a longer period.
Note: Long-term participants provide invaluable data for our research and receive compensation for their involvement.
Benefits of participation
- Measure internet service quality and see how it changes throughout the day and over time.
- Provide valuable data to local, state, and federal leaders.
- Help improve internet options in your community.
Residents of Gladwin, Manistee, Missaukee, Montmorency, Osceola, or Oscoda County: The first 25 participants from each county to complete our long-term study will receive a $50 Amazon gift card.
Frequently asked questions
Will the test device see what I do on the Internet?
The test device connects directly to your modem and is isolated from other traffic on your network. This setup leverages the built-in security features of your modem to protect your privacy and ensure the safety of your other connected devices.
What data is collected?
The test device is a single purpose device that runs internet speed tests and securely transmits the results to pods.radartoolkit.com. You will be able to access all the speed tests there.
Only the following data is collected:
- Your internet’s status (on or off)
- Time of test
- Type of test - Ookla orNdt7
- Download speed
- Upload speed
- Latency
- Loss
- Jitter
What or who is Radar?
Radar is the name of our research program, and all speed test data is securely stored and accessible through the Radar website.
How were eligible counties determined?
This project uses rural designated counties determined by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy.
What is the duration of the study?
Pods need to be installed for at least three months, but it would be helpful if it remained installed longer. You do not need to return the Pods to us.
I want to use one of these devices, but I do not have a wired network connection. What are my options?
Currently, you can participate by taking the speed test above and if you provide us with your contact information we will inform you about participating in the future.
How will my community benefit from participating?
By collecting data from you, we will be able to create an accurate picture of high-speed internet availability in rural areas of Michigan. This data can then be used to justify funding for high-speed internet expansion.
What speed testing services do you use?
The two leading Internet speed test services in the US are created and managed by Measurement Labs and Ookla, LLC. M-Labs NDT7 and Ookla Speedtest CLI are the two testing platforms used by this project to measure Internet speed. The applications do this by uploading and downloading data and measuring the connection’s speed as well as other network quality information such as jitter, latency, and packet loss. The Pod described above runs these tests to collect broadband speed information.
How are the measurement devices secured?
The operating system used for this is a minimal version of Debian 11, which means non-essential services and features are never installed to reduce potential vulnerabilities. Minimal network services are enabled, and in-bound ports are disabled. Security updates and patches are automatically applied daily. The software used to perform the speed tests only accepts updates from a centralized server and will only execute code that has been digitally signed with a certificate. Additional security information is available for those interested.
I received a test device. What do I do with it?
Setting up your Pod should take approximately three minutes.
- Connect one end of the ethernet cable to the port marked ‘Ethernet’ on the side of the Pod.
- Plug the other end of the ethernet cable into a spare LAN port on your router. Typically, your modem and router are separate devices, and your Pod will be connected to the router.
- If you have an all-in-one modem and router device, plug the ethernet cable into a spare LAN port.
- Power up the Pod by connecting the power supply to the ‘USB-C’ port on the Pod.
- Green and orange lights should begin to flash on the port marked 'Ethernet' on the side of the Pod.
- Complete this form on a computer.
- You will need the 12-digit ID from the printed white label on your Pod to register.
- Your Pod is now set up and gathering data regarding your internet performance only.
Who is funding this project?
This project is funded through Health Resources and Services Administration grant number GA5RH40183, awarded to the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium. Central Michigan University is one of three sub-awardees supporting this grant.