UK 'misled' on broadband speeds, says Ofcom report

bealtine · 27-07-2010 8:10am #1

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-10760069

Britons are not getting the broadband services they are being sold, research by the regulator Ofcom suggests.

Its analysis of broadband speeds in the UK shows that, for some services, 97% of consumers do not get the advertised speed.

It also shows a growing gap between the claims ISPs make for broadband and the speed being delivered.

To fix the problem, Ofcom is revamping the code of conduct for ISPs and asking for changes to how broadband is sold.
Growing gap

The regulator's survey shows that the average residential broadband speed in the UK has risen in the last 12 months from 4.1Megabits per second (Mbps) to 5.2Mbps.
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The report also revealed the changing nature of UK broadband. Now 65% of UK homes have fixed line broadband and 24% of those users are on services sold as being able to support 10Mbps or more. By contrast in April 2009, only 8% of homes had signed up for such a service.

Unveiling the figures Ed Richards, chief executive of Ofcom, said the survey revealed a "growing gap" between what people are sold and the reality of their broadband service.

"The gap between the average headline speed and actual speed has increased in this period even though the actual speed has risen," he said.

In 2009, he said, when actual speeds for broadband were 4.1mbps, the average that those services were being advertised for stood at 7.1Mbps. In 2010, when people are generally getting 5.2Mbps out of their broadband, ISPs are claiming they will support speeds up to 11.5Mbps.
Average download speeds, Ofcom/SamKnows

Mr Richards acknowledged that selling broadband was tricky because of the many factors that can influence the speed that a consumer experiences.

"It is not a homogenous product," he said. "There are challenges of wiring, line length and interference and so on. It's not as simple as taking an absolute standard product. It's a complicated product, more complicated than anyone imagined."

Despite this, he said, the way broadband was advertised typically by using the words "up to" before a speed was not as clear as it could be.

The speed survey found that, in some cases, hardly any customers got the "up to" speed that was being advertised.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote

We do want to see clearer advertising and we make no secret about that”

End Quote Ed Richards

For example, the survey found that on DSL services advertised as being "up to" 20Mbps only 2% of customers got speeds in the range of 14-20Mbps. Of the others, 32% were getting a 8-14Mbps service and 65%, 8Mbps or less.

A spokesman for BT, Britain's largest ISP, said it gave customers an idea of the speed they were likely to get on their line so their expectations were realistic.

"People get what they sign up for," he said. "They are informed when they sign up so they know what speed to expect."

In some cases, he said, technical problems might stop those estimated speeds being reached.

"If the customer's line cannot achieve that for whatever reason, then the customer can leave us without penalty," he added.
Code changes

In an attempt to improve how broadband is sold, Ofcom has been pushing ISPs to adopt a new code of practice, which will mean consumers get more information about speed as they sign up for a new provider. The code is due to come in over the next 12 months and all the UK's larger ISPs have signed up for it.
Speed limit sign, PA Few Britons get the broadband speeds being advertised suggests research

It will mean that, instead of being given a single figure, consumers will get an idea of the range of speeds their line can support. This will be provided as a "durable record" so there can be no dispute if reaching an estimated speed proves elusive.

"Ofcom is trying to move the market on from speed," said Alex Salter, co-founder of broadband measurement site SamKnows which gathered the figures behind the analysis.

"While it is a handy statistic ISPs can use to communicate such a complex service to consumers, it has proven to be misleading," he said.

Mr Salter said giving more information about a service would help the growing number of consumers who are very knowledgeable about the type of broadband they need. Many people were looking for information about delay and jitter on their line as they used higher quality video streams and took part in online gaming.

Mr Richards from Ofcom said the regulator had made its views known to the Advertising Standards Authority which was now conducting a review of the way broadband was sold.

"We do want to see clearer advertising and we make no secret about that," he said. "We want advertising that is more meaningful to the consumer."

A spokeswoman for the ASA said the review would be completed by the end of 2010.

watty · 27-07-2010 8:20am

For example, the survey found that on DSL services advertised as being "up to" 20Mbps only 2% of customers got speeds in the range of 14-20Mbps. Of the others, 32% were getting a 8-14Mbps service and 65%, 8Mbps or less.

Because "up to" 20Mbps is ADSL2+ and that speed is only near exchange. Average speed will be 7Mbps to 9Mbps. Same as here. If there is no contention on backhaul. Due to line length.

This is basic Physics, known since ADSL was first deployed. Why wait ten years to regulate it?

Variation of speed with distance for different xDSL technologies
Yellow is ADSL2+, Green is original ADSL
(perfect line, no crosstalk, typically 30% less speed in real world)
The Blue is VDSL used from Fibre fed cabinet. So even eircom's FTTC speed claims are misleading as the speed drops very sharply indeed with distance from cabinet.

We also have original ADSL which is "up to" 8Mbps. So on average speed will be 3Mbps if there is no contention on backhaul due to line length.

Comreg was going to do something over two years ago. ISPs filled in questionaires. A code of practice with Average speed at Peak time was mentioned.

Why are we still bombarded with "Broadband" adverts for services that are not Broadband at all, "Unlimited" that isn't, Byzantine "FUP" (Fair Usage Policies instead of clear limits), services that block sites, ports or charge extra for non-P2P when the T&Cs only claim to charge extra for P2P and totally unrealistic speeds. Such as Vodafone's HSPA+ 21Mbps that gives 99% of broadband users the same 0.03Mbps to 3Mbps as any 7.2Mbps mast?

Peak speed, % users, random cell location, only one live connection

Also reviewed here
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/07/27/broadband_ads/

bealtine · 30-07-2010 2:37pm

http://www.eweekeurope.co.uk/news/insiders-hit-back-at-ofcom-broadband-criticism-8690

Analysts and industry insiders have responded to the publication of an Ofcom report this week, which criticised broadband service providers for not delivering the speeds promised to consumers.

The Ofcom report released earlier this week praised infrastructure providers for a 25 percent increase in the speed of the average actual fixed-line residential connection. But the bulk of the watchdog’s latest report was focused on criticising operators - mainly those providing broadband over copper infrastructure - for not delivering services as advertised.
Information from BT

Responding to the criticism, the boss of one of the UK’s leading ISPs, TalkTalk, said that the claims levelled by Ofcom were unfair. In a blog posting, TalkTalk’s chairman Charles Dunstone argued that Ofcom could be doing more to push BT - as the operator of the copper infrastructure - to improve maintenance of the lines and its communication with fellow service providers.

“We think there is more Ofcom could be doing to improve the flow of information from BT about what speeds can technically be achieved on its network, as well as getting it to improve the quality of the lines,” said Dunstone. “The reality is that when the BT network was built no one had ever dreamed of broadband, so we are all trying to run a 21st century technology over a network that was designed for making phone calls.”

Another industry source told eWEEK Europe UK that a lot of the criticism was merely posturing on Ofcom’s part, and that the regulator was well aware of the limitations of copper infrastructure. “They know the limits of broadband and the situation we’re in but want to look tough,” the insider said. “We don’t know how good your line is until we take it over so we apply a formula based upon distance from the exchange.”

However, the insider did admit that some service providers only signed-up those consumers who could be guaranteed a good service in order to improve average speed claims. “The stats related to the different providers are also misleading. Some ISPs are very selective about which customers they take on, i.e. only those quite near exchanges. That makes their average speed look great, but chances are if the customer moved to another ISP, it might be just as quick due to the quality of the connection.”

Analysts have also questioned the speed issues raised by Ofcom. Telecoms analyst Ovum released a statement this week which said the issue basically came down to the timetable for replacing copper with fibre across the UK. “The only real long-term solution will be an upgrading of the physical infrastructure – i.e. replacing the old copper with new fibre lines,” said Matthew Howett, senior analyst at Ovum.
Superfast Broadband

However, Howett admitted that this would require investment and even government subsidies - an issue which the coalition government has been discussing recently. “The problem will be the cost and uncertainly over the willingness of customers to pay for these upgrades. Already some significant investments are being made, but there will be some areas of the UK that will not be able to benefit from superfast broadband and so will look to the government to subsidise – something which has been hotly debated for the last few years, yet on which little consensus has emerged.”

On the 15 July, Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt announced that the government’s plan to roll out 2Mbps broadband to all British homes by 2012 has been delayed - till 2015. Hunt blamed the previous government for setting a target that could not be met with the resources available.

Earlier this month, BT Openreach announced it is to restart its fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) trials, with the UK carrier rolling out fibre trials in two telephone exchanges initially, namely Bradwell Abbey in Milton Keynes, and then in Highams Park in North London.

The Ofcom report is not the only broadband issue that TalkTalk has been embroiled in. The company also admitted this week to monitoring the online activity of its customers without their consent.

watty · 30-07-2010 4:36pm

I think Milton Keynes has budget "aluminium" pairs. African Wars and shortage of Zambian copper in 1970s, or an ill-fated BT cost saving plan? They certainly need fibre upgrade.

UK 'misled' on broadband speeds, says Ofcom report

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