Ofcom demands realistic broadband speed advertising

Watchdog wants marketing to reflect actual broadband speeds

Ofcom has recommended that ISPs advertise the actual broadband speeds their customers experience, rather than the theoretical maximum often used today.

In its response to the Committee for Advertising Practice (CAP) and Broadcast Committee for Advertising Practice (BCAP) consultation on broadband speeds advertising, the watchdog said:

"If speeds are used in broadband advertising they should be based on a Typical Speeds Range (TSR), so consumers have a clearer idea of what speeds to expect."

Ofcom said that its research shows that the average broadband speed increased from 5.2Mbit/s to 6.2Mbit/s last year, but remained less than half of the average advertised broadband speed of 13.8Mbit/s.

In the course of its research, Ofcom found that broadband services delivered by fibre-to-the-cabinet gave average speeds much closer to those advertised.