In the last years the problem of measuring and monitoring broadband performance has attracted a lot of attention. In this paper we present our recent work in this area, providing the following main contributions: firstly, we analyze the literature, illustrating the different existing approaches and the main requirements of platforms implementing these approaches; secondly, we describe the lessons learned designing and implementing a platform called HoBBIT; thirdly, we analyze and share the results obtained from the current deployment in Italy. The lessons learned and the design guidelines of the platform can be of help in light of the recent research and standardization efforts in this area. The results and the dataset we shared with the community provide information on the current status of broadband in Italy and allow other researchers to access fresh measurements from a real and large scale deployment.