UK broadband connections only half as fast as advertised, says new Ofcom under research

"Consumers do not receive anywhere near the speeds advertised by some internet service providers,» says Ofcom under chief executive Ed Richards. Photograph: Getty Images

Millions of Britons are still sold "super fast" connections that are only half as fast, as announced, according to research Ofcom underby.

Data published by the communications regulatory authorities shows that although Britons enjoyed a 10% increase in average broadband speeds around the UK for six months to may, reached 6.8 megabits per second (Mbps), compared with 6.2 Mbps in November 2010, average advertised speed was 15Mbps.

The data shown by a study of the domestic relations, 1,673 people.

The main difference in advertised and received broadband speeds came with copper-based DSL phone lines, used in more than 75% of UK homes. Customers with broadband packages offering speeds "up to" 20Mbps and 24Mbps actually received an average speed of 6.6 Mbps, according to research – and more than a third of these customers got average speeds of 4Mbps or less.

Ofcom under has long pressed for a change to the internet way ISPs, including BT and sky, announces "up to" broadband speeds, most customers are able to receive.

Ed Richards, Executive Director of Ofcom under, said: "we are now witness to consumers increasingly move to the higher-rated services and really enjoy faster speeds. Consumers also have access to better broadband information, allowing them to decide which provider to use based on actual speeds they can achieve at home.

"However, research is still telling us that some consumers do not receive anywhere near the speeds advertised by some ISPs. Ofcom under continued calls CAP and BCAP Committee to make changes to advertising their guide, so that consumers can make more informed decisions based on advertising they see. "

Advertising Standards Authority suggest advertising practice (CAP) and the broadcast Committee of adverting practices (BCAP) is expected to report in the early autumn of changes to the way in broadband speeds advertised.

Four of the largest ISPs – BT, Sky, Virgin Media and O2 – have signed by Ofcom concerning the new code of practice, which shall enter into force on Wednesday and dictate that customers should be an expected rate at point of sale.

The growing demand for faster packages – nutrition of traffic-intensive video services like BBC iPlayer and YouTube – popularity has put current infrastructure is under tremendous pressure, which means most ISPs are not able to deliver advertised speeds, especially during periods of peak usage, when large numbers of people use the services at the same time.

Customers with fibre optic connections get speeds much closer to those advertised, such as the ones from Virgin Media and Bouygues Telecom's Infinity package. Report shoes, average download speed on Virgin Media 30Mbps package was in fact marginally higher than the advertised speed.

Only about 22% of Britons have fiber optic connections, despite them being available to 57% of UK homes.

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