Advanced Television

Ofcom investigates broadband speeds

October 12, 2007

The head of Ofcom’s independent consumer panel has sent letters to the bosses of the UK’s top six broadband providers asking why customers often fail to get the connection speeds they are promised. The enquiry to BT, Tiscali and TalkTalk “follows increasing consumer concern about broadband speeds”.

Broadband providers often say they offer speeds “up to” a headline-grabbing figure such as 8, 16 or even 24 megabits per second. Research from price comparison website Moneysupermarket.com, however, shows that only 21 per cent of broadband customers actually get the speed for which they signed up.

In a survey of over 43,000 broadband users, Moneysupermarket found that 44 per cent were only getting half the speed they expected. Even on the most basic package of ‘up to’ 2 megabits per second, only about half the customers were getting the right speed.

Categories: Articles, Broadband, Regulation