Cable.co.uk Says UK Broadband Speeds Falling Short Of Advertised "Up To" Speeds

LONDON, April 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- New broadband figures released by Cable.co.uk suggest the average broadband download speed is less than half of the average advertised broadband "up to" speed.

Research by broadband comparison site Cable.co.uk reveals the average broadband download speed during March 2012 was 7.9Mbps, compared to the average advertised up to speed of 18.5Mbps.

Fibre optic broadband came closest with an average of 17.6Mbps, 50% of the 35.2Mbps advertised.

ADSL, the UK's most widely used broadband, which uses the existing telephone network, reported 6.3Mbps, 41.7% of the advertised 15.1Mbps.

Mobile broadband was the worst offender, with a 2.4Mbps download speed just 19.3% of the 12.4Mbps advertised.

Paul France of Cable.co.uk said, "Our speed test results indicate there's still a disparity between advertised broadband speeds and actual speeds consumers are reporting."

"Even with the new advertising guidelines in place consumers could still be disappointed or feel misled by advertised 'up to' speeds when in reality their actual speeds fall short of what they were expecting."

"Our advice to consumers is to ignore advertised up to speeds and check their line speed on a website like Cable.co.uk, or with the providers directly."

On 1 April 2012 CAP/BCAP published new guidelines which require UK providers to use more realistic up to figures in their broadband advertising.

Appendices

Cable.co.uk broadband speed test data (1-31 March 2012)

ADSL broadband:

5,755 speed tests
Average advertised up to speed: 15.1Mbps
Average download speed: 6.3Mbps

Fibre optic broadband:

4,399 speed tests
Average advertised up to speed: 35.2Mbps
Average download speed: 17.6Mbps

Mobile broadband:

143 speed tests
Average advertised up to speed: 12.4Mbps
Average download speed: 2.4Mbps

All broadband types:

10,546 speed tests
Average advertised up to speed: 18.5Mbps
Average download speed: 7.9Mbps

NB: Providers and types of broadband with less than 10 records were excluded from the study. This was a total of 249.

SOURCE Cable.co.uk

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