Australian broadband test routers disabled after regulator program ends
The ACCC says SamKnows whiteboxes used by volunteers are no longer operational, prompting concern that working hardware could become e-waste.
By Maya Lindqvist · Senior Technology Correspondent
3 min read
Australia’s broadband speed monitoring program has ended, and the hardware sent to volunteers for testing has been disabled. The decision matters because the devices were described by one participant as working routers that could be reused instead of discarded.
The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission ran the Measuring Broadband Australia program with SamKnows to assess fixed-line broadband services, including connections delivered over the National Broadband Network and other access networks. According to the ACCC’s final report, the SamKnows-supplied “whitebox” devices ran tests against servers hosted in Australia to measure internet performance.
The program ended on June 30, 2026, Ars Technica reported. An email reviewed by Ars and signed by “The SamKnows Team (part of Cisco)” told a volunteer that the whitebox would be disabled and the user’s SamKnows One account closed after the program ended.
The same email said the devices would stop collecting data after June 30 and that measurement and registration data would be deleted under SamKnows’ retention obligations. The ACCC did not give Ars a precise count of devices affected.
In a December 2020 ACCC report cited by Ars, the regulator said it had expected to issue about 4,000 whiteboxes over the life of the program and had already distributed more than 2,600 by that point. In a later statement to Ars, the ACCC described the hardware as having been provided to “a few thousand volunteers.”
Reuse concerns
An MBA volunteer who asked Ars not to be named said the whiteboxes run a custom version of OpenWRT, an open-source, Linux-based operating system commonly used on embedded networking devices. The volunteer said the devices could be reflashed into ordinary Wi-Fi routers with solid performance.
The volunteer told Ars they had reflashed their own unit and were using it as an OpenWRT router. They said the process required a soldering iron without company support, but argued that a final firmware update from the company could have made reuse easier for other participants.
SamKnows’ email to volunteers advised them to unplug the whiteboxes and dispose of them “in an environmentally responsible manner,” according to Ars. The message pointed users to free e-waste recycling services at local council and resource recovery centers, as well as Officeworks, JB Hi-Fi and Harvey Norman stores.
The volunteer told Ars that disabling usable routers creates an avoidable e-waste risk. Ars also reported that some hobbyists have shared instructions for keeping the devices working after the program’s shutdown.
No detailed explanation
Ars reported that SamKnows did not answer questions about why the routers were disabled, and that ThousandEyes, the Cisco-owned networking intelligence company whose website SamKnows.com redirects to, also did not respond. Cisco told Ars that, under SamKnows’ agreement with the ACCC, questions about Measuring Broadband Australia should go to the regulator.
The ACCC told Ars that the whiteboxes were dedicated hardware devices manufactured and supplied by SamKnows and used for broadband performance measurement. “With the conclusion of the Measuring Broadband Australia program, the whiteboxes deployed during the MBA program have been disabled and are no longer operational,” the ACCC said, according to Ars.
The regulator also said volunteers were encouraged to use free e-waste recycling services. Ars reported that the ACCC did not answer its questions about why the routers were disabled rather than opened for easier reuse through a final firmware update.
This story draws on original reporting from Ars Technica.