Broadband speeds throughout the UK are much lower than advertised, a new survey has found.

A poll by IT magazine Computeractive has found that out of 3,000 people who took part, 62 per cent were not receiving the download speeds that were sold to them, the BBC reports.

After testing each connection more than 30 times, the publication found that the majority of internet users were receiving download speeds of anywhere between one and four mbps on ADSL lines, with those companies which advertised eight mbps speeds "vary rarely" achieving those rates.

Paul Allen, editor of Computeractive, told the BBC: "This problem has been building for a while with a growing gulf between what is advertised and what is delivered. The adverts often have super-fast broadband in huge lettering with the "up to" clause in very small print."

Figures released by Ofcom last month show that 51 per cent of UK homes have a broadband connection.


Friday, 21st September 2007

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