Broadband speeds 51% slower than advertised

BRITISH households are paying for broadband speeds that are on average 51 per cent slower than advertised, according to a study.

Customers paying for speeds of up to 38 megabits per second (Mbps) are only receiving on average half that at 19Mbps, results from 235,000 uses of the Which? broadband speed checker tool found.

From May 23, home broadband providers must ensure that at least 50% of their customers can achieve advertised speeds at peak time under a crackdown to prevent misleading claims.

Current standards allow firms to advertise “up to” speeds as long as they are available to a minimum of just 10% of customers, resulting in widespread complaints from government, consumer groups and the public.

The Which? findings revealed widespread differences between the speeds advertised and those delivered, with results showing the faster the advertised speed, the further away it was from the actual speed recorded.

Consumers paying for a package of up to 200Mbps were on average only able to receive average speeds of 52Mbps – just 26% of the speed promised.

Alex Neill, Which? managing director of home services, said: “This change in the rules is good news for customers who have been continuously let down by unrealistic adverts and broadband speeds that won’t ever live up to expectations.”