Virgin slams rivals for 'unscrupulous' broadband advertising

Virgin Media has branded its rivals as “unscrupulous” for advertising broadband speeds they cannot provide.

The company’s executive director of broadband, Jon James, said: “People are paying for faster and faster broadband but being ripped off by unscrupulous providers who can’t deliver their promised speeds to even a single customer.

“A change in advertising is urgently needed to build consumer confidence in super-fast broadband and the industry more generally,” said Mr James.

Virgin has launched a website that it claims will give consumers better information about the actual speeds they could attain from a Virgin connection. The figures are based on speed tests taken from the connections of current customers.

Virgin's broadband speed honesty page displays the speeds that at least 66 per cent of its customers received in tests over a 24-hour period.

The same test was used when Ofcom published figures about broadband speeds across major broadband providers in May this year and is managed by broadband measurement specialist, Samknows.

A router fitted with a measuring device was sent to Virgin customers who volunteered to take part in the testing scheme, which began in 2009. The router runs the speed test at times when it detects the user’s PC is not busy uploading or downloading data. This means software issues that could affect the test are eliminated.

Andrew Ferguson of independent advice website, Think Broadband, said that while the test was far from perfect, consumers would benefit from more information.

“Publishing the speed that 66 per cent of our users got could give scope for ignoring the customers in areas where they consider a fault to exist.

“But while there are flaws with any speed-testing system, more information must be welcomed. The question is whether it will be communicated to the average consumer, or just lost in the wonderful world of bylines that is modern advertising,” said Mr Ferguson.

A BT representative said that the average figure was meaningless. “The only speed that customers are interested in is the one that they actually get. An average speed means as much as an ‘up-to’ speed. The honesty and clarity of a personalised speed quote is something we plan to concentrate much more on in the future, making our predictions even better – and to confirm them in writing.”

The figures do not apply to all Virgin Media broadband services. Customers who subscribe to Virgin Media National are excluded because this service runs on DSL lines rented from providers such as BT.

Virgin Media’s representative said its advertising for such services would make clear that connections are subject to the same constraints that affect all DSL-based services, such as distance from the exchange.

Research commissioned by Virgin Media to accompany the launch of the site showed that 94% of people believe broadband providers should advertise consistent information about broadband speeds – so they can reliably compare speeds.