Ofcom to research UK fixed broadband speeds

Many users complain of broadband speeds that fail to match expectations

Ofcom has awarded a contract to broadband monitoring firm SamKnows to research and collect data on the fixed broadband speeds delivered by internet service providers (ISPs).

SamKnows has developed a technology called White Box that is placed in a user's home to record the relevant ISP's network speeds, rather than the home network or web traffic.

Alex Salter, SamKnows chief executive, said that ISPs are claiming to offer increasingly faster services, and that it is important to determine whether they actually deliver the promised speeds.

"What we are looking to measure in the forthcoming project is how this ISP performance will improve as consumers switch to services which are being advertised as significantly faster," he said.

The project will follow on from work undertaken by SamKnows last year to monitor and report on the UK's broadband connectivity in general.

"The 2009 project highlighted that a clear discrepancy exists between what the ISPs are saying and what the end consumer is actually receiving," said Salter.

SamKnows is keen to find volunteers to help with the project.

Broadband speeds have long been a source of contention in the industry, and many users complain that speeds rarely reach what is advertised.

Virgin and BT have been touting speeds of 50Mbit/s to 100Mbit/s with increasing regularity, as next-generation networks and new technologies like the coming LTE and 4G offer much faster connections.