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Service providers should give clear information about actual connection speeds, firm says
BT has said that internet service providers (ISPs) should work closely with the regulator Ofcom to give customers clear information about the broadband speed they can get.
BT Wholesale, the UK’s biggest broadband supplier, has admitted that the way ISPs market their products can leave customers frustrated by speeds that bear little relation to those advertised.
Guy Bradshaw of BT Wholesale told Computeractive that customer dissatisfaction shows that ISPs must put rules in place.
“Although it is not up to BT Wholesale to tell ISPs how to market their services, Ofcom is already working on producing a set of rules. There is no reason why ISPs shouldn’t work closely with the regulator,” he said.
The latest calls clearly echo the aims of Computeractive’s Crystal Clear Broadband Campaign, launched in 2007. Our research showed a clear mismatch between advertised speeds and those actually available to customers.
A recent survey from Point Topic also highlighted the huge mismatch between advertised speeds and the speed of actual connections.
Pamela Varley, research analyst at Point Topic, said: "Of the users who reported subscribing to an ‘up to 16 Mbits/sec’ package, only four per cent said that their connection actually provided it."
There are many variables that affect speeds, such as distance from the exchange and line quality, but BT's Guy Bradshaw pointed out that the industry and customers should not get too fixated about speed.
"ISPs need to think about the quality of the connections they give. Customers don't want to see a drop in their connection speeds if they are, for example, downloading a video" he said.
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Pay for what you get
With all the hullabaloo about upto... How simple would it be to pay a price according to what your line allows. IE 8meg could = £8 6meg = £6 etc. This would remove the anomaly of what's on offer and the actual speed the customer receives. Speed tests could be used over a period to determine actual line speeds.
Posted by Walter Pugh, 14 Mar 2008
unusable
Our speed is now down to 428 kbs download and 378 upload and won't support our wireless network. We swopped to the PostOffice from BT in hope of improved service but they are not troubled by our current situation. What good would telling us the speeds do if they won't deal with the problem of rubbish infrastructure ie BT's telephone wires?
Posted by Anne Wareham, 16 Mar 2008
Attemts to get BT Broadband
My Daughter?s attempts to get a broadband connection, from BT in Widnes was a mystery to her. Even though her friends on the same estate had broadband from BT, she was told by a number of ISPs that the telephone line was not suitable, but they would not explain why. I checked with BT and they said they had a trial Fibre-Optic line to a small section of the estate. As an retired electrical maniacal engineer how worked on ?System X? the digital telephone exchange for BT. It was a mystery to me as we worked with BICC to connect Fibre Optic to copper and back in 1986, what have BT been doing since then? This is what our councilors or MPs should be looking into, as my grandchildren need the Internet to do the schoolwork. As the schools insist on giving them work that can only be done on the Internet. The builder of the estate is now erecting up to 90 new houses, and BT will supplying the telephone lines to them, Will it be Fibre-Optic or a Copper line? BT have the monopoly don?t they. Or will Virgin Media will jump in with Fibre-Optic lines. Maybe your readers will have some comments on the same problem. Mr. T. Callan, Runcorn Cheshire.
Posted by Mr T Callan, 25 Mar 2008
Selling what they can't provide!
"There are many variables that affect speeds, such as distance from the exchange and line quality, but BT's Guy Bradshaw pointed out that the industry and customers should not get too fixated about speed." I don't believe that these are the main reasons for the slow connections, my connection can fluctuate from 1mbps to topping out at what i'm acctually paying for 8mbps - are they trying to say that as i'm using it the quality of the line is changing... or maybe im mysteriously moving closer and farther away from the exchange... I think the real problem is that the links between the exchanges and BT's core network are not capable of handling the amount of customers they are sticking on one exchange - they are selling what they dont have...
Posted by Kris, 14 Mar 2008