Ofcom: 50% UK now getting 10 Megabits per second Internet

UK home broadband speeds have increased 22% in the last 12 months, according to the latest audit of national connectivity from Ofcom - and it says not enough broadband consumers know they could upgrade to faster networks for little or no extra cost if they switched package or provider.

 

The comms watchdog's study found that, for the first time, more than half of UK residential broadband connections now have an advertised speed of above 10Mbit/s. In November 2011, the average actual UK residential broadband speed was 7.6Mbit/s, compared with 6.2Mbit/s in the same period of the previous year. Ofcom says the increase is mainly a result of consumers moving onto higher speed packages. 

 

Ofcom Chief Executive, Ed Richards, said: “It is encouraging that speeds are increasing and that consumers have a real choice of broadband service. There is a real opportunity for consumers to look at the packages and deals in their area in order to receive the best value, speeds and performance available to them.”

 

But more than 4 in 10 broadband consumers remain on packages with speeds of 10Mbit/s or less even though many of them would be able to get a higher speed at little or no extra cost if they switched package or provider.

 

The Communications Consumer Panel, the independent body established to advise Ofcom on the consumer interest in the markets it regulates, said it remained concerned that many people with ADSL-based broadband connections continue to experience much lower average download speeds than the headline ‘up to’ advertised speeds.

 

It also believes that new CAP guidance, which comes into force from April doesn’t go far enough. It requires that speed claims should be achievable by at least 10% of an ISP’s customers, and only where a significant proportion of customers are unlikely to receive a speed sufficiently close to that advertised should further qualifying information be included.

 

Communications Consumer Panel chairman Bob Warner said: “This additional qualifying information must be equally prominent to consumers when they are thinking about which broadband package to buy. Consumers can only make an informed choice if they can easily compare different packages and providers. We will be watching carefully to see if the new guidelines are effective.”

 

The Ofcom research found that in November 2011, half of consumers who had paid for an ‘up to’ 8Mbit/s broadband package only received an average speed of 3Mbit/s or less. While half of consumers who had paid for an ‘up to’ 20/24Mbit/s service received average speeds of 5Mbit/s or less.

 

Ofcom has recently commissioned mystery shopping to look at whether ISPs are adhering to the spirit of the Code and aims to publish the findings in the spring.

 

Matt Hawkins, managing director of communications service provider C4L, warned that it was not profitable enough for most large providers to expand from their established customer base in urban areas to more remote communities. “It’s down to local government and initiatives such as the rural community broadband fund to reach out to the roughly 25% of the country who aren’t currently covered."