Broadband companies are not providing the connection speeds promised by their advertising.

A two-week investigation by consumer group Which? tested 300 connections promoted as offering speeds of up to 8 megabits per second (Mbit/s). The average connection rate was recorded as 2.7 Mbit/s, the slowest connection was 0.09 Mbit/s.

Even the fastest case study in the group failed to reach the advertised speed, falling short at 6.7 Mbit/s.

‘It is shocking that internet service providers can advertise ever-increasing speeds that seem to bear little resemblance to what most people can achieve in reality,' said Malcolm Coles, online editor for Which?.

The group has asked Ofcom and Trading Standards to start a new investigation into UK broadband providers.