Why has my broadband download speed slowed down so massively?

We have been using Tesco broadband on our two PCs for some years. But now better deals are available and so earlier in the year I asked Tesco to provide me with a migration authorisation code (MAC). I was given one within five working days as required.

Unfortunately, our download speed has dropped from slow to the top speed of a dying snail.

Dennis Robertson

Mr Robertson asked if the drop in speed was a “known repercussion of ordering a MAC from a broadband provider”. It shouldn’t be and we don’t believe Tesco would stoop so low.

There may well be a fault on Mr Robertson’s line, or it could be that more Tesco customers were logging on to the internet while stuck at home during the inclement weather.

He should call the customer helpline to see if it can resolve the issue and ask what its traffic management policy is. This is how internet service providers (ISP) handle the number of people using their network.

When networks are congested, most ISPs give first priority to things most people want to do; such as emailing or surfing the web. So they may degrade the quality of certain content or slow down a connection for downloads from file-sharing sites.

But hopefully Mr Robertson has chosen his new ISP and will soon have a new service. He should check to see if his new provider has signed up to Ofcom’s broadband Code of Practice (CoP). He can then ask his new provider for an estimate of what stable speed he can expect.

Although it is a voluntary code, ISPs signed up to this are required to ensure access to line speed estimates given to customers are as accurate as possible. This should be given as early in the signing up process as possible, before a MAC or any financial details are given.

Ofcom will also introduce changes to the CoP in July 2011 to ensure fair usage and that traffic management policies are clearly shown on ISP websites. It also proposes that customers should be able to cancel without penalty if they receive “significantly lower” speeds than they were led to believe.