Broadband speed claims continue to mislead

Internet service providers still make misleading claims about broadband speeds, often providing less than half the advertised rate, according to figures from Broadband Expert.

The site gathered data on 105,744 consumer tests on several ISPs, and discovered that the average customer gets just 44 per cent of the promised speed at an average of 4.97Mbit/s.

Sky emerged as the worst offender, delivering 35 per cent of promised speeds on average at 4.81Mbit/s based on tests by 13,787 customers. BT also fared poorly, achieving just 3.9Mbit/s on tests by 21,311 customers.

Virgin Media came top with an average 9.17Mbit/s based on tests from 28,197 customers, the highest number for one firm in the survey. BE Broadband also scored well with an average of 7.94Mbit/s, while O2 was third on 6.22Mbit/s.

Rob Webber, commercial director at Broadband Expert, noted that, while many of the ISPs had increased their average speeds since the last survey, many had also upped the speeds they claimed to deliver, thereby undermining the increases.

"What is surprising is that average broadband speed actually increased marginally in 2010 compared to the year before," he said.

"However, the ISPs ruined their chances of improving their reputation by upping their advertised figures. It will do nothing to improve trust between the industry and consumers."

The findings match similar data from Ofcom conducted with broadband monitoring firm SamKnows in July 2010 which found that most broadband packages hardly ever reach the promised 'up to' speeds.

This prompted Ofcom to make two suggestions to the Advertising Standards Authority and the Committee on Advertising Practice, both of which are currently reviewing the situation through a consultation that closes on 25 February.