diff --git a/lib/if.h b/lib/if.h
index d7ec495636..e8e84ffc88 100644
--- a/lib/if.h
+++ b/lib/if.h
@@ -229,7 +229,7 @@ struct interface
   /* Interface metric */
   uint32_t metric;
 
-  /* Interface Speed */
+  /* Interface Speed in Mb/s */
   uint32_t speed;
 
   /* Interface MTU. */
diff --git a/zebra/if_netlink.c b/zebra/if_netlink.c
index b1d4dd81d9..28538fabdf 100644
--- a/zebra/if_netlink.c
+++ b/zebra/if_netlink.c
@@ -330,8 +330,10 @@ get_iflink_speed (const char *ifname)
   /* Get the current link state for the interface */
   rc = ioctl(sd, SIOCETHTOOL, (char *)&ifdata);
   if(rc < 0) {
-    zlog_debug ("IOCTL failure to read interface %s speed: %d %s",
-                ifname, errno, safe_strerror(errno));
+    zlog_debug("IOCTL failure to read interface %s speed: %d %s",
+	       ifname, errno, safe_strerror(errno));
+    ecmd.speed_hi = 0;
+    ecmd.speed = 0;
   }
 
   close(sd);