An Ofcom report published yesterday suggests that the average download speed received by UK broadband customers is only just over half the speed of the average advertised rate. Data from the report shows that while the average broadband package is sold as “up to” 7.1Mbps, the actual average speed delivered is thought to be 4.1Mbps, little more than half the average theoretical maximum.
The data was collected from 1,600 homes between November 2008 and April 2009, and appears to have been taken from SamKnows. The full report is on Ofcom’s site, and publishes a league table of average speeds. Unsurprisingly, Virgin Media sits at the top of the pile with customers receiving speeds ranging between 8.1 and 8.7Mbps on it L 10Mbps broadband package.
A Virgin Media spokesperson said that the report “demonstrates that the “up to” marketing claims of most copper-based broadband providers are not to be trusted, with most major ISPs delivering less than half of what they promise.”
“Virgin Media delivers more than any other major ISP - even our cheapest broadband tier delivers double the average of our major competitors - and we are committed to making all of our marketing better reflect the actual experience our customers get.”
BT however is not so happy with the report claiming that the data used does not provide an accurate picture of today’s broadband infrastructure.
“Ofcom’s report does not take into account how networks are laid out between exchanges and premises; penalises BT for providing broadband in areas that other ISPs avoid; is based on a tiny sample; and is at odds with independent research,” said BT consumer managing director John Petter.
“Ofcom’s report is also out of date because we are rolling out new broadband technology, ADSL2+, which provides much higher speeds,” he continues. “At the beginning of June BT announced that it will more than double broadband speeds later this year for its residential and business customers to up to 20Mbps, at no extra cost, following a £1.5 billion investment in new technology.”
The table below shows the average speeds received by the sample in the survey, and is taken direclty from the Ofcom report (see link below):
| ISP and package | Average speed |
|---|---|
| AOL Broadband (‘up to’ 8Mbit/s) | 3.3 to 3.9Mbit/s |
| BT (‘up to’ 8Mbit/s) | 3.8 to 4.2Mbit/s |
| O2 (‘up to’ 8Mbit/s)* | 4.1 to 5.1Mbit/s |
| Orange (‘up to’ 8Mbit/s) | 3.8 to 4.5Mbit/s |
| Plusnet (‘up to’ 8Mbit/s)* | 3.8 to 4.9Mbit/s |
| Sky (‘up to’ 8Mbit/s) | 4.0 to 4.7Mbit/s |
| Talk Talk (‘up to’ 8Mbit/s) | 3.8 to 4.6Mbit/s |
| Tiscali (‘up to’ 8Mbit/s) | 3.2 to 3.7Mbit/s |
| Virgin Media (‘up to’ 10Mbit/s) | 8.1 to 8.7Mbit/s |
Source: Ofcom
Posted by Tom on July 29th 2009 in AOL, BT Broadband, Next Gen Broadband, O2 Broadband, Orange Broadband, PlusNet, Sky Broadband, TalkTalk, Tiscali, Virgin Media
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