UK ISPs quizzed over advertised broadband speeds

Written by Tim Smalley

October 10, 2007 | 13:03

Tags: #broadband #consumer #internet #investigation #isp #isps #panel #speeds

Companies: #ofcom #uk

Top brass at six of the UK’s top broadband Internet providers have been asked by Ofcom’s Consumer Panel to justify why customers don’t get the speeds that are advertised.

This appears to be a follow-up to Which?’s investigation that led to a complaint on the sorry state of affairs being filed with Ofcom, the UK’s telecommunications regulator.

We believe that broadband customers are not at the moment getting enough information,” Colette Bowe, chairwoman of the Ofcom Consumer Panel told BBC News.

While recognising that there are technical reasons why consumers don’t receive the advertised speeds, Bowe asked broadband providers to find ways to deal with the technical issues to give consumers more information on the speeds they can likely expect in their area.

Ofcom’s letter also requested that ISPs allow customers to test connection speeds for a longer period without having to sign a contract, along with giving customers the option of terminating a contract if speeds are well below what is advertised.

Having suffered inexcusably shoddy netspeed from at least one broadband Internet service provider in the past (and, despite providing sufficient evidence to the contrary, being told that the issue is clearly at my end ), I would certainly welcome the final point with open arms.

Broadband Internet has improved vastly in the UK, but it’s still by no means where it should be – let’s hope that Ofcom’s involvement will clear the slate and result in a better quality of service for all of us in the UK.

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