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The site is currently looking for 200 volunteers to deploy a Linksys WRT54GL router on their broadband connection, which will measure a wide variety of metrics about Britain's leading ISPs.

In addition to a standard speed test, the router will check the connection's latency, packet loss, DNS query resolution time, web page loading time and other factors.

Samknows has run a pilot test using 60 of the specially-adapted routers which has already revealed alarming trends, such as ISPs deploying oppressive traffic shaping on both residential and business accounts,

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and faulty DNS servers that can cripple everyday web surfing.

Hardware test

The Linksys router is deployed between the user's existing router and home computers, so that it can detect traffic volumes and avoid running the tests at peak usage times.

"It's a standard Linksys router - we've put a small Linux distribution on it as well as our software that runs the tests," the site's creator, Sam Crawford, told PC Pro. "We're ultimately using tried and tested standard Linux tools."

Crawford says he aims to eventually recruit thousands of volunteers to participate in the tests. "We've got 60 already but we want to make sure we've got a bigger sample size," he claims. "Ultimately, [a sample size] in the thousands would be nice."

Crawford claims that all data collected during the tests will remain anonymous.

To sign up for the tests and find out more about the trials visit Samknows Broadband.