The Federal Communication Commission (FCC) estimates that 200 million Americans have access to broadband Internet; and this number is poised to grow even further. Users connect to the Internet in a multitude of ways; DSL, cable, WiMAX and 3G, to name a few. Surprisingly, given the ubiquitous nature of access networks, there is very little understanding of how they perform. There is no standard definition of performance, and users do not know what to expect from their Internet connection, or, in many cases, even what they are paying for. In this submission, we present two research papers, “Broadband Networks: A View from the Gateway”  and “Helping Users Shop for ISPs with Internet Nutrition Labels”. The first paper studies factors that affect performance of broadband networks, and the second proposes a simple advertising model that helps users make informed choices about their ISP and service plans.

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