ISPs need tougher rules to stop telling broadband speed fibs

The government faces demands from a group claiming to represent UK broadband consumers to sort out the alleged wide discrepancy between advertised and 'real-world' domestic Internet connectivity.

 

The issue is important as it plays into the set of questions about how soon the country can realistically hope to achieve any kind of 'Digital Britain' universal fast broadband speed.

 

The organisation – the Communications Consumer Panel – has asked the Minister whose remit of communication, culture and the creative industries covers broadband issues, Ed Vaizey, to support UK regulator Ofcom better police the often exaggerated claims of ISPs.

 

That body has been working with the Advertising Standards Authority in a bid to put pressure on suppliers to give buyers more accurate information on what they will actually get.

 

But a more effective way, says the group, might be to force ISPs to do this instead of relying on them following the Ofcom voluntary code.

 

"We hope we can count on your support in underscoring to the industry the need for [ISPs] to do more and better to ensure consumers are treated fairly in this crucial market place," it says.

 

The government has made no response so far.

 

The Panel was established under the Communications Act 2003 as the independent policy advisory body on consumer interests in telecommunications, broadcasting and spectrum markets (with the exception of content issues) and works closely with Ofcom.