Quality of Service

Arcep is launching a public consultation to gather stakeholders’ assessment of the implementation of the “Access ID card” API and Code of conduct for entities involved in measuring internet quality of service. It also queries the ecosystem on possible changes to the current mechanisms. Stakeholders have until 19 September 2025 to respond, via the Arcep website.

Assessing the “Access ID card” API, five years on

Internet QoS and speed tests performed by users via online crowdsourcing tools are not always able to accurately identify the technical properties of the access line being used to run the test (underlying technology, local environment, Wi-Fi quality, etc.), which naturally limits the ability to interpret their results which can be misleading. To make these results more reliable, in 2018 Arcep began a collaborative approach with some 20 stakeholders, including the publishers of crowdsourced QoS and speed testing tools, consumer protection organisations, ISPs and academics. This led to the implementation of the “Access ID card” API [1], deployed on the modems/STBs of France’s four main operators.

Even though it has been operational on a large number of ISP modems since 2022, the API is still not widely used by testing tools. Which is why Arcep is keen to assess the relevance of its objectives within a profoundly altered technical environment: particularly as broadband technologies (ADSL, VDSL…) have been replaced with fibre, users’ needs with respect to speed tests appear to have changed.

Does the Code of conduct for testing tools need to be revised?

Adopted in 2018 and revised in 2020, the Code of conduct on internet quality of service secures a commitment from players to adhere to a set of best practices, notably in terms of methodological transparency and explaining their findings. It aims to ensure that the results provided to the public are more accurate.

Some 15 QoS/speed testing tools have been declared Code-compliant. The purpose of the public consultation is to identify relevant updates to better respond to technical changes and to user expectations.

An approach based on co-construction with operators, testing tools and users

This public consultation marks the natural progression of the initial co-construction process begun with some 20 stakeholders that led to the creation of the two mechanisms, and to ISPs and testing tool providers’ involvement in a working committee that has been meeting on a regular basis since the API first launched. Stakeholders’ commitment and this ongoing dialogue have been vital to ensuring the API’s proper implementation and operation.

Arcep invites all of the stakeholders concerned – ISPs, testing tool publishers, consumer associations and user representatives – to contribute to this consultation and to assessing this work that is crucial to measuring internet quality of service.

Associated document:

• The public consultation