Time for clarity in broadband contracts

More than half of broadband subscribers regularly receive less than half the bandwidth advertised by internet service providers, according to a national survey conducted by Computeractive.

The survey was based on speed tests performed by a tool downloaded from the Computeractive website and developed by advice service Broadband Choices.

The nationwide survey showed that 28 per cent of more than 3,000 respondents received less than a quarter of their maximum advertised bandwidth.

The figures revealed the depth of inequality to which broadband subscribers are subjected. The discrepancy prompted Computeractive to launch a campaign to pressure the communications regulator Ofcom to take action to give consumers a better deal.

Ofcom permits ISPs to advertise theoretical maximum speeds with the get-out clause that the service provides “up to” this level buried in terms and conditions.
We have launched a petition on the Downing Street website urging Prime Minister Gordon Brown to instruct Ofcom to take action and force ISPs to provide clear information about the actual speed they are likely to receive in the form of a typical rate, like that published by credit card and loan providers.

Our petition demands that ISPs be forced to make this information clear in advertising and that Ofcom introduces an independent speed test so consumers can rate their connection speed against the typical rate.

We have formed a partnership with two broadband experts – Broadband Choices and Think Broadband - to run the campaign.

Michael Phillips of Broadband Choices said: “ISPs need to make clear the actual speed each line can support before customers sign up. Achievable speeds are based on factors such as distance from the exchange, which providers can forecast.”

Computeractive readers reacted angrily to the results. Alice Devaney from Tewkesbury found she was getting 3.5Mbits/sec of the up to 16Mbits/sec service she pays for. “Someone needs to regulate this industry as ISPs get away with offering people less bandwidth than they pay for,” she said.

Our tool performed regular tests, with each of the readers’ connections being checked on average 19 times to give a consistent picture of performance. More than 100,000 separate speed tests were conducted in total.