The average actual fixed-line residential broadband speed in the UK has soared by more than 25 per cent, reveals a report published today by Ofcom.
According to the regulator, average download speeds increased from 4.1Mbit/s in April 2009 to 5.2Mbit/s in…
The average actual fixed-line residential broadband speed in the UK has soared by more than 25 per cent, reveals a report published today by Ofcom.
According to the regulator, average download speeds increased from 4.1Mbit/s in April 2009 to 5.2Mbit/s in May this year, as ISPs continued to roll our higher speed broadband packages.
In May, 24 per cent of fixed-line residential broadband connections in the UK had an advertised speed of above ‘up to’ 10Mbit/s. This is compared to eight per cent in April last year.
However, Ofcom chief executive Ed Richards warned that actual speeds “are often much lower” than many of the speeds advertised by some ISPs to advertise their services.
The report suggests this widening gap is caused by broadband being delivered over copper lines originally designed for phone calls. This causes a decrease in speed because of the electrical interference that occurs on long and poor quality lines.
To counter the effects of operating on old lines, Ofcom has upgraded the Voluntary Code of Practice on Broadband Speeds to give consumers a more accurate perception of the maximum speed they are likely to receive.
ISPs are being encouraged to sign up to “the Code”, which also states that consumers should be allowed to leave their contracts within three months of signing up if the maximum speed is significantly below original estimates, and their provider is unable to resolve the issue.
Richards said that the majority of ISPs have signed up to the revised code, which was originally published in 2008.
