Broadband providers are still a long way from giving consumers useful indications of actual speeds
28 July 2009
Communications Consumer Panel Chair Anna Bradley said that Ofcom's report into consumer experience of broadband performance "is very helpful because it highlights the differences between suppliers, and illustrates the scale of the problem." But she adds that "consumers are still seeing advertised speeds way out of line with what they get in practice - particularly for faster broadband services - and so they will find it difficult to make an informed choice about who to go with to maximise speed".
The report shows a variation of as much as 1.8mb from the best to the worst speeds (excluding cable) "almost as much variation as the Government's proposed universal service commitment (USC) of 2mb".
She urged providers to consider using average rather than up-to-speeds when advertising broadband services. "This Ofcom research breaks new ground by providing a method for giving average speeds in a comparable way. Going forward, effective implementation of the Government's universal service commitment is vital; consumers will expect minimum speeds of 2mb. No amount of up-to-speeds will do the trick," Anna Bradley said.