Companies don’t deliver advertised broadband speeds

30 April 2008

Firms deliver less than 50% of advertised speed

According to new research, broadband customers are still only getting half the download speed that they actually pay for.

On average, broadband customers are being delivered only 48% of the advertised download speed.

The study, which was conducted by Broadband Expert, tested 41,230 broadband connections during February and March 2008 and compared the speeds customers were getting against the maximum speed quoted by the broadband package they had signed up to.

Significant differences were found between the different providers.

Packages offering lower maximum speeds were found to be much more likely to reach this advertised speed. However, the average actual speed achieved by those advertising 16Mb+ was a low 8.6Mb and only 45% of the quoted maximum speeds. Those customers on 8Mb only achieved 3.4Mb or 43%.

In contrast, customers paying for 2Mb packages received an average speed of 1.8Mb or 88% of the quoted maximum speed.

William Harvey, Broadband Expert technical director, said: “It seems clear that providers are promising speeds far greater than they are capable of delivering with top end packages.

“If the ISPs (Internet Service Providers) set a realistic expectation of the speeds that can be achieved, they are much less likely to upset consumers that those who advertise fast speeds and under deliver,” he added.

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