Five MILLION in broadband slow lane can get more speed ... for less cash
INTERNET providers are ripping off up to five million customers with a shoddy snail’s pace service – when they should be paying less for a faster broadband. Next month, the telecoms regulator Ofcom is to crack down on broadband providers – such as BT, Sky, TalkTalk and Virgin – by ordering them to tell customers when they are coming to the end of their introductory offers. Most people forget when this happens and automatically continue to receive the same service but are charged a standard rate that is perhaps £15 a month on top of what they were previously paying.
This follows a shake-up two years ago that banned providers from using misleading adverts that boasted of maximum ‘up to’ speeds – a figure usually impossible to achieve.
But even though broadband providers must now promote only ‘average’ download speeds it does not mean that the service is any better – or faster.
According to the Advertising Standards Authority, average speeds are based on the download speed available to at least 50 per cent of customers at the peak usage time of 8pm to 10pm. Edd Dawson, chief executive of comparison website Broadband, says: ‘What an internet provider claims you are receiving and what you are actually getting can be two different things.
‘You should start by finding out the real speed. We provide a broadband speed tool you should use to find out if it is comparable with what an internet provider claims you get.
‘You just tap your details into the website and it checks automatically. The trick is to do it when no one else is in the home – and also to try it at various times duringthe day.’
Dawson says you can also use other broadband speed service websites – such as Broadband Speed Checker – to test speeds in your home. There are also free phone apps that can do exactly the same thing. Those to consider include SpeedSmart, Speed Check and Network Analyzer.
The download speed is the main figure to look at on such a speed-checking service and this is measured in megabits.
A family that uses laptops, computer games and smartphones may want a minimum of 20 Megabits per second (Mbps). High definition video streaming only requires 5Mbps but each time someone else goes online, the broadband speed drops – so if a family of four were all logged on at the same time the service could cut out or freeze. According to Broadband, the average national speed is 36Mpbs.
Another measurement to take note of is ‘ping’ – which shows how fast you can connect to the internet. A ping delay of 50milliseconds (ms) is the slowest you should accept – but if you want to play computer games you may need it to be just 10ms.
YOU should also consider ‘upload’ speeds. This is a measurement for how fast you can send data – so important if you want to send photos or videos. For most, an upload speed of 3Mbps is adequate. Dawson says: ‘Despite 26million homes being connected to broadband, at least 10million of these could be enjoying better speeds. This is because they are not taking advantage of technology that allows faster speeds along existing copper wires or fibre cable access. As many as half of these customers could enjoy this faster service for less money just by switching to a new introductory offer.’
If your internet speeds do not match up with the boast of your internet provider then call them and ask if they can sort it out. If it still fails to live up to your expectation, quit and go to another deal.
The internet provider cannot keep you in a contract if it is not living up to the internet speed ‘guarantee’ it has made. Comparison websites such as Broadband or Broadbandchoices should be able to find the best deal. These services enable you to tap in your postcode to discover offers available in your area.
Introductory contracts will provide the cheapest deals – but will end up being poor value if you fail to switch to another good offer once it ends.
Broadband points out that one of the cheapest offers is Post Office Unlimited
Broadband. For the first year, it charges just £15.90 a month for an 11Mbps speed. But after this introductory period has ended, it leaps to £30 a month. For less than this standard price deal you could sign up to TalkTalk Faster Fibre – which charges just £21.95 a month for a faster 38Mbps.
Mark Pocock, manager at comparison website Broadbandchoices, says: ‘Customers are all too easily bamboozled by impressive sounding hightech jargon – megabits, pings, downloads and uploads – but few of us actually know what on earth it all means. Providers are eager to take advantage of this muddle.
‘After sucking you in with an attractive introductory rate you do not even understand, you can be pushed into a standard contract. A supplier such as BT might charge £15 a month more for the same speed deal as before.’
He adds: ‘All this confusion makes it easy for you to get ripped off. But the new Ofcom rule forcing broad
band suppliers to let you know when you are coming to the end of a contract should provide you with a wake-up call saying it is time to change.’
Start by calling your existing internet provider to see if it can switch you on to a better deal – then use a comparison website to see if this can be beaten. Despite a different provider having to send a new modem and router for you to log on to their service, they are often sent free to new customers.
Pocock, of Broadbandchoices, says: ‘There is a common misapprehension among consumers that changing providers causes internet disruption – some fear it could be days. But the reality is that it only takes as long as turning one piece of equipment off and another on.’
The new Ofcom rules, that kick in on February 15, demand an ‘end-ofcontract notification’ is sent via either letter, text or email between ten and 40 days before a deal ends.
This will also apply for all contracts taken out before February 15 but that end after this date. It will include details of current and future prices to be paid for the deal along with internet download speeds offered. Details about other internet offers from the same provider will also be included.
Citizens Advice made a ‘super complaint’ 16 months ago about how loyalty to suppliers including broadband providers costs customers £4.1 billion a year. This figure includes the cost to customers of not only switching to a better deal for broadband, but also mobiles, home insurance, mortgages and savings.
The Competition and Markets Authority, which is handling the complaint, said earlier this month that it would publish its findings in six months on how the industry should be tackling loyalty rip-offs.
Gillian Guy, chief executive at Citizens Advice, says: ‘The loyalty penalty is a huge problem and affects those who can least afford it. Progress to tackle the problem is far too slow and inconsistent.’