ISPs sign up to Ofcom Code on broadband speeds

[Paule]

A Code of Practice to ensure that internet service providers (ISPs) offer greater clarity over customers’ broadband line speeds was published by Ofcom today. The Code does not require the disclosure of average speeds, but Ofcom said that might change.

Some 32 ISPs, covering over 90% of broadband customers, have already agreed to honour both the letter and the spirit of the Code to give consumers a clearer understanding of the speeds they can get. Signatories include BT Total Broadband, Virgin Media, TalkTalk, Tiscali and AOL Broadband.

Ofcom is concerned that consumers could be misled or misinformed when choosing their broadband services by ISPs advertising headline speeds that are higher than users can receive in practice. Ofcom’s own research has shown that consumer satisfaction of ISPs has fallen over the last year.

Under the new voluntary Code of Practice, fixed-line ISPs are required to take four steps:

1. provide customers at the point of sale with an accurate estimate of the maximum speed that the line can support, whether it is in the shop, over the internet or on the phone;
2. resolve technical issues to improve speed and offer customers the choice to move onto a lower speed package when estimates given are inaccurate;
3. ensure all sales and promotion staff have a proper understanding of the products they are selling so they can explain to their customers the meaning of the estimates provided at the point of sale; and
4. provide consumers with information on usage limits and alerting customers when they have breached them.

An ISP does not need to tell a consumer its customers' average connection speed under the Code. But the regulator is also undertaking a broadband speed survey to identify actual broadband performance across the country and its relationship to advertised headline speeds. An Ofcom spokeswoman said that the Code might be amended after that exercise to ensure that consumers are given a useful indication of what speed they can expect to receive.

Ofcom is urging all fixed-line ISPs to sign up to this Code and to implement it in full within six months of signing.

Ofcom will monitor compliance, including through mystery shopping exercises, to determine if ISPs are meeting both the letter and spirit of the Code. If Ofcom finds that this voluntary approach is not effective in addressing the issues covered by the Code, it will consider introducing formal regulations, it said.

Separately, Ofcom will consider whether to extend the Code or develop another Code to cover mobile broadband services.

Voluntary Code of Practice: Broadband Speeds

Broadband speeds: A guide for consumers to the new Code of Practice

Broadband speeds - consumer Q&A

List of ISPs

[Curlyben]

Re: ISPs sign up to Ofcom Code on broadband speeds

All sounds fine and dandy, but it wont stop the attention getting headlines, the code doesn't cover marketing, so don't necessarily expect an end to the "UNLIMITED* SUPERFAST** 8MEG*** BROADBAND!!!" adverts that leave so many feeling cheated.

That and the fact is it voluntary makes it pretty much like a chocolate tea pot on an ashtray equipped motor bike

[LuggerBugs]

Re: ISPs sign up to Ofcom Code on broadband speeds

They can sign up to any amount of codes that they want. I'll STILL be stuck on the end of a 4 mile long piece of copper with leaky junction boxes that let the water in.

[stevokenevo]

Re: ISPs sign up to Ofcom Code on broadband speeds

i will have to have a good read through before forming an opinion.

In my case, i am with sky broadband, and have their max service which is speeds 'up to' 16Mb, testing has shown i average 11Mb, and although this is good it is no where near the 16Mb.

I think they have got it covered by stating that the speed are the maximum possible and dependant on your distance to the exchange etc.

[LuggerBugs]

Re: ISPs sign up to Ofcom Code on broadband speeds

Whilst nobody expects them to change the laws of physics, it WOULD be nice if they didn't deliberately mislead peeps.

[strangewayofsavin]

Re: ISPs sign up to Ofcom Code on broadband speeds

sorry to be boring, but how can an ISP enforce their terms and conditions in a court of law ? when the full terms and conditions are only available online?
this basically means, that until you sign the agreement, and gain access to the web, you cannot read and agree the full terms and conditions.
sorry but this sounds most unfair, and I am sure most of the implied terms would be void as unfair in a court of law.

[Paule]

UK’s most comprehensive consumer research lifts the lid on broadband speeds

UK’s most comprehensive consumer research lifts the lid on broadband speeds

UK consumers receive an average broadband speed of 3.6Mbit/s new Ofcom research reveals. This compares with an average maximum possible speed* of 4.3Mbit/s across the UK.
The finding comes from one of the most sophisticated and thorough research programmes undertaken into the real broadband speeds experienced by UK consumers. Over a 30 day period approximately 7,000 tests were run through monitoring units connected to around 1,500 homes’ broadband routers, resulting in over 10 million separate tests of a range of suppliers’ services.
The research was conducted in association with broadband performance specialists SamKnows and market research company GfK Ltd.
3.6Mbit/s is sufficient for many internet applications, including audio and standard definition video. However, the speeds achieved are significantly below advertised headline speeds. Among consumers on the most popular ‘up to 8Mbit/s’ package (which over 60% of UK broadband consumers subscribe to), one in five subscribers receives an average speed of less than 2Mbit/s and on average the actual speed consumers receive is 45% of the advertised headline speed.
Ofcom took measures to address this concern last month by requiring all Internet Service Providers (ISPs) signing up to the Broadband Speeds Code of Practice to provide an accurate estimate of the maximum speed they can expect when signing up to a service.

Speeds vary by distance from exchange and time of day

The research shows how DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) broadband speeds depend in part on distance from the local BT exchange. Largely because of distance, consumers living in urban areas received speeds which were on average 15% faster than those in rural areas. Consumers in London received the fastest average speeds, with those in the north east of England, Wales and Scotland receiving on average the slowest speeds.
DSL and cable broadband speeds vary by time of day due to differing traffic levels on ISPs’ networks. Across the UK, speeds were slowest between 5pm and 6pm on Sundays, when use of the internet is at its highest.

Consumer satisfaction with broadband services

The research also found that most consumers surveyed are reasonably happy with their broadband service, with 9% expressing dissatisfaction overall. However, speed was the most commonly cited cause of dissatisfaction.
Although 93% of consumers were satisfied with their experience of web browsing, satisfaction rates were lower among users of applications which typically benefit from faster speeds or more consistent performance. For example, only two thirds (67%) of those who use their broadband connection to watch or download TV programmes were satisfied with the experience.
The research also revealed that, while 91% of consumers said that speed was an important consideration when signing up with their current broadband provider, 28% of them were unaware of the headline speed package they purchased.
Overall, dissatisfaction with broadband is higher for rural users (14%) than urban users (8%). At a regional level, consumers in the North East, Eastern and South West English regions are significantly more satisfied than users in East Midlands, Wales and Scotland.

Broadband speeds Code of Practice and consumer guide

Ofcom has taken a number of steps to ensure that consumers get better information about broadband speeds. Since 5 December 2008, over 95 per cent of people choosing a broadband service have been covered by the Ofcom broadband speeds Code of Practice which requires ISPs to provide an accurate estimate of the maximum speed they can expect when signing up to a service.
Under the code, in addition to providing an accurate estimate of the maximum speeds consumers will be able to receive, ISPs must also explain to customers the factors which determine the actual broadband speeds they can receive and give guidance on how to improve speeds. In December 2008, Ofcom published a guide for consumers on the steps they can take if they are unhappy with their broadband speeds which can be found at:
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/advice/guides/bbspeeds.pdf
Ofcom’s Chief Executive, Ed Richards said:
“Ofcom’s research is one of the most comprehensive assessments of consumers’ broadband experiences to date. We want to see all Internet Service Providers meet the needs of their customers by clearly explaining what speeds they should expect and by ensuring that their networks meet consumers’ increasing demand for higher speed broadband.”
“We have already seen the first steps towards next generation super-fast broadband in the UK and we expect further developments this year. Following our work last year, Ofcom will publish the next steps for the regulatory framework early this year.”
The full broadband speeds research document can be found at:
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/research/tel...bbspeed_jan09/
Ends.

DEFINITION OF TERMS
Megabits per second (Mbit/s) is an industry-standard measure of the speed of data transfer over the internet.
DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) is broadband delivered via a copper phone line connected from a local exchange to a house or business.
Average broadband speed is the actual average download speed received by the research participants over the 30 days of data collection.
*Maximum possible speed is the highest speed that a line is capable of (defined in this research by the highest speed ever achieved in the 30 days of data collection).
Headline speed is the download speed at which an internet service is advertised.

NOTES FOR EDITORS
1. Ofcom’s broadband speeds Code of Practice can be found at: http://www.ofcom.org.uk/broadbandcode/
2. Ofcom’s technical partner in this research, SamKnows (www.Samknows.com) specialise in broadband performance management and supplied the technical solution, including providing monitoring equipment and collating test results. GfK Limited is a market research company who were commissioned to recruit a representative panel of UK broadband subscribers. GfK collected survey data from all panellists and managed the process of them connecting the monitoring equipment.
3. This initial report is based on data from the first 30 days of data collection from a project which is scheduled to last at least six months. A fuller research report will be published in spring 2009.