Firms Rapped Over Broadband Speed Ads

Customers are being misled by broadband advertisers with some claiming double the actual internet speed achievable, the industry watchdog has said.

Man stands at computer in internet free zone
Ofcom says the nation’s average internet speed rate is 6.2 Mbits/second.
The study by Ofcom found the average internet speed in Britain was 6.2 Mbps, while advertisers were promoting an average of "up to" of 13.8 Mbps.
It has called for Internet Service Providers (ISP) to advertise the actual speed customers are likely to achieve at home as opposed to maximum speeds.
Ofcom said "up to" speeds should only be advertised "if it is actually achievable in practice by a material number of consumers".
Its recommendations - to the Advertising Standards Authority - could come into force in July.
Technician works on Broadband cables
"It is important that the rules around broadband advertising change so that consumers are able to make more informed decisions based on the adverts they see," said Ofcom chief executive Ed Richards.
The study looked at 11 packages provided by the UK’s seven largest ISPs representing more than 90% of residential subscribers.
Results were compiled from more than 18 million performance tests in 1,700 homes at the end of last year.
The study also found that Next-Generation Broadband(NGB) services, available to a growing number of households, were significantly faster than current services.

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