Broadband Gets the Whip

In light of new guidelines due to be brought into force early in 2008, broadband providers could face legal action if they do not give accurate information to customers when they sign up. This welcome ruling was put into motion by Ofcom, the technology watchdog.

The rule mainly covers the question of the connection speeds, which there has been some controversy over in recent months. It was discovered that customers were paying for speeds advertised as 'up to' 8MB, 16MB or even 24MB, when in some cases were only getting perhaps a quarter of that.

Providers argued that the 'up to' wording indicated that the advertised speed were only a maximum and not a guarantee, but Ofcom's stance was that it was misleading, and there was too much difference between advertised and actual. They have called for a 'typical' speed to be shown instead - much like the typical APR on credit cards.

The new code states that broadband providers must assess a customers line and give accurate, clear data as to what speed they can expect from their line, provide information about things that can affect line speed, and also contact them two weeks after the service installation to let them know what speed they are getting. If it's significantly lower than the speed originally quoted, the customer has the option of switching free to a different package or backing out of the deal with no penalties incurred.

For most of the broadband users in the UK, this ruling could not have come too soon. When Computeractive magazine did a study back in September 2007 it found that 62% of people who used its speed-testing software were getting less than half the speed advertised by their ISP. For example, on an '8MB' connection, the actual average speed is 2.7Mbps. That's just a third of the speed the customer would be paying for.

It can sometimes make a difference if you pay a higher price. Cheap broadband packages tend to have a higher contention rate, which means you're sharing your bandwidth with more people and therefore getting a slower speed. Paying a higher tariff can sometimes get you a lower contention, but you may need to ask about this as not all providers advertise it.

If you're unhappy with your current connection speed, try and wait until this new ruling comes into force before switching ISP's. You may find you get a faster speed and better deal.

Want broadband? Find cheap broadband by comparing broadband providers online.

J Tillotson is a UK author specialising in technology and communications.

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