Broadband Guide

UK averages 3.6Mb but speeds vary

Thursday, 08 January 2009

Garnet Roach garnet@consumerchoices.co.uk

Broadband users in the UK get an average download speed of 3.6Mb according to new research from Ofcom, representing 49 per cent of the average headline speed.

“Broadband speeds are important to consumers,” said the regulator, “helping inform their choice of ISP and affecting their experience of the internet.”

However, Ofcom noted that “there is a lack of robust information available on the actual speeds that consumers receive and how these relate to both the maximum possible line speeds and the advertised ‘up to’ broadband speeds they pay for.”

Consumers on the most popular broadband packages, with speeds of up to 8Mb, received an average of 3.6Mb - 45 per cent of their advertised headline speed, and had an average maximum possible line speed of 4.5Mb, the research showed.

But “speeds varied considerably between consumers” said Ofcom, with one in five consumers on an up to 8Mb package receiving less than 2Mb.

Although 83 per cent of consumers claimed that they were satisfied with their broadband service, more than a quarter said their download speeds were not what they expected when they signed up. But despite its significance, 28 per cent did not know the headline speed of the package they had signed up to.

21 per cent had some level of dissatisfaction with their broadband speeds, while 16 per cent felt their broadband package didn’t represent value for money and 13 per cent were dissatisfied with the reliability of their connection.

Rural users were more likely to be dissatisfied with their broadband speeds than those living in urban areas and due to factors like distance from the exchange, received an average speed 13 per cent slower than city dwellers. Contention was also noted as a major cause of speed fluctuations for customers.

Michael Phillips, BroadbandChoices.co.uk product director, said: “In its report, Ofcom noted that the ‘level of understanding of the factors which influence speed is also modest’ with many consumers unaware that their distance from the exchange will affect their speed.

“As well as working harder to give accurate estimates of actual download speeds at the point of sale - as requested by Ofcom in its broadband code of practice launched last month - providers should change the way that they advertise their packages,” said Phillips.

“Average broadband speeds should be advertised - much in the way that credit cards advertise their average APR - not theoretical, but rarely achievable, maximums that only lead to disappointment,” he concluded.

Felix Geyr, managing director of Be Broadband (www.BeThere.co.uk), one of the ISPs included in oFCOM'S research, said: "The Ofcom report is a step in the right direction for the broadband industry to cut through customer’s confusion and improve trust in their services. Ofcom’s broadband speeds code of practice, which Be Broadband signed up to when it was first announced, requires ISPs to better explain to new customers what speeds they are likely to obtain in practice, and also to tell them what steps they can take to improve their broadband performance.

Related article - Boost your broadband speed.

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