The issue of actual broadband speed versus advertised speed is yet to be resolved. While the UK telecom regulator Ofcom, has already asked the ISPs to be more transparent regarding this issue, most customers do not seem to be impressed by Ofcom’s intitiative.

This week, Colette Bowe, the Chairman of the Ofcom Consumer Panel, wrote a letter to Ofcom Chief Executive Ed Richards asking Ofcom to establish a mandatory code of practice for UK broadband providers to resolve this issue. Consumer Panel has already held discussions with six leading service providers as many consumers expressed concerns over the discrepancy between the advertised speeds and actual speeds.

“We would like to see Ofcom leading discussions with industry to produce an enforceable code of practice that would be mandatory for ISPs. This code would establish agreed processes to give the customer the best information during and after the sales process, and to give them flexibility to move freely to different packages that reflect the actual speeds with which their ISPs are able to provide them.”

Colette Bowe further said that this information should be available to its customers on its own website. Bowe felt that consumers would be able to distinguish between the natural factors that affect speed and other factors which they can control.
“It would also provide quality of service information to assist in their decision over which ISP to opt for,” he said.

According to Bowe, the code of practice should make the ISPs to inform their customers about the minimum speed that is achievable and the factors that affect the speeds. After two weeks of installation, if the line is found to be offering less speed than the theoretical minimum speed claimed by the ISP, customers should have the option to upgrade to another package or even terminate service without incurring any cancellation charges.

Bowe also wanted the ASA to be watchful over the adverts that depict false or unrealistic claims:
“I will be requesting that Advertising Standards Authority, working with industry, considers how the range of factors affecting broadband speeds can be given much greater prominence in advertising material. We believe that clearer information in advertising of broadband speeds and the associated packages would greatly increase customer satisfaction.”