Ofcom slams UK broadband speeds
Just a few weeks after releasing a damning report on the 3G coverage of mobile networks, Ofcom has today named and shamed the broadband providers whose speeds aren't up to the figures they advertise.
Despite adverts boasting speeds of 10 and 20Mbps, Ofcom's findings show that less than 9% of all users receive any more than 6Mbps.
In fact, it found nearly a fifth of all customers on an 8Mbps connection receive less than 2Mbps in reality.
Nine providers in total were tested between November 2008 and April this year, with Virgin Media's 10Mbps service coming out on top, averaging between 8.1 to 8.7Mbps.
Tiscali came in as the worst, with its advertised 8Mbps service only managing an average between 3.2 and 3.7Mbps.
Typically it found that newer cable connections far outpaced the copper wire-based ADSL, stating that "those that are investing more are clearly delivering a better service".
It's not all bleak news though – the average connection speed in the UK is up from recorded speeds in January from 3.6 to 4.1 Mbps. Every cloud.
What do you think to the report? Be sure to have your say below, or if you really want to rant – head over to our forums and let off some steam.
Via: BBC
Comments
paul.e
2 years ago
i have a 2.7mbps and its the best that sky can get in my area they told me that before connecting me im not happy but what can i do still cheaper than bt by 20 quid a month for unlimited downloads
cruelbrit
2 years ago
I'm a Tiscali 8Mb customer and I'm damn lucky if my connection speed sees anything over 2Mb.
They were apparently doing upgrade work on the BT phone lines in our area before in lieu of buying them from BT altogether.
I was on their 2Mb service before that and there's little to no difference in my speed. Disappointing.
If I hadn't heard so many horror stories about Virgin Media's performace I'd have switched over by now...
cruelbrit
2 years ago
I'm a Tiscali 8Mb customer and I'm damn lucky if my connection speed sees anything over 2Mb.
They were apparently doing upgrade work on the BT phone lines in our area before in lieu of buying them from BT altogether.
I was on their 2Mb service before that and there's little to no difference in my speed. Disappointing.
If I hadn't heard so many horror stories about Virgin Media's performace I'd have switched over by now...
alastairclark
2 years ago
I have to say that i have had NO bad experiences with Virgin Media. the service is reliable and is the ONLY fibre optic service at the moment which means that you always get a faster connection, weather you get the speed you pay for is obviously another story.
I wonder if Her Majesty actually gets 50Mbps??
pgcrooks
2 years ago
I was on Virgin media for 2 years while at uni and really can't complain about them, apart from some right at the start with connecting the service, they wouldn't allow calls to their help centres from mobiles and I didn't have a landline at uni! Fixed that soon enough though. Anyway, I paid for the 20mb service and on average got 19.7mb in Coventry, was brilliant!
76rufus
2 years ago
I have Virgin on 10mb and I always get between 8.9 & 9.5 I have even had 10.01. use the top10 broadband speedtest to test your connection http://www.top10-broadband.co.uk/speedtest/
Rubenjh
2 years ago
We're with talktalk 8mb but yes sometimes, the internet seems to stop... dont know why.
But i just done the top10 broadband speedtest....
Our download speed is at 6.35mb which i suppose isnt bad!
Rubenjh
2 years ago
ahh and that is with me and my sister on the internet, dont know if that makes a difference.