Ofcom Survey Reveals Consumers Mislead By ISP Broadband Advertising
Communications industry regulator Ofcom has conducted a survey which finds that 97% of UK consumers don't get the levels of broadband service promised to them by ISPs.
CEO of Ofcom, Ed Richards, said there is a growing gap between what people are sold and the reality of what their broadband service delivers. While ISP's advertise 'up to' certain internet speeds, consumers are not experiencing this in reality.
Ofcom has thus labelled this type of advertising misleading, and calls for a new ISP code of conduct. Mr Richards acknowledged however that there are factors that affect individual broadband speed, saying "There are challenges of wiring, line length and interference and so on. It's not as simple as taking an absolute standard product. It's a complicated product, more complicated than anyone imagined."
A review by the Advertising Standards Authority is aimed to be completed by the end of this year. The new code of conduct, which is expected to come into force within the next 12 months, will give consumers a clearer idea of the speeds their fixed-line is able to support.