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Research continually points out that broadband customers are struggling with their internet connections because despite what providers advertise, the actual speeds of most broadband network connections are about half of what is promised.
Ofcom took an in-depth look at one of the most popular internet service provider’s advertisements that claimed to offer speeds ‘up to’ 8mbps and found that most users only receive speeds of 3.9mbps. About 75% of UK households subscribe to this service which means a vast majority of UK citizens may be upset with their internet speeds.
For those who are not aware of what the speeds may translate into, with a speed of 3.9mbps it would take about two hours to download a full DVD quality film while it would only take an hour if the speeds delivered were the same as the speeds advertised.
According to further results from Ofcom, only one out of every ten homes that subscribe to an 8MB service actually get speeds that are faster than 6MB and not one home receives 8MB due to the way that ISP’s wire their networks.
Ofcom stated that the average speed that most people receive across the UK is 4.1MB which is enough to double the time of every download that you start.
26% of people told Ofcom that they were unhappy with the speeds they received since the speeds are not what they signed up to receive.
Tiscali and AOL which are owned by TalkTalk came in last in internet speeds delivered versus promised speeds with Virgin Mobile scoring the highest internet speeds in the UK with delivery that reaches up to 10MB.
The Communications Consumer Panel is advocating that ISP’s change their advertising to eliminate consumer complaints with the theory that customers will be satisfied if they are correctly informed versus mislead.
Filed under: Broadband Deals by Alan
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An interesting study conducted by Ofcom exposed some surprising results to those who thought that offline people simply stay offline due to the expense of owning a PC and internet bills.
According to the results of the study, 42% of (currently not online) adults in the UK would choose to stay offline willingly even if they had a free broadband connection and were given a free PC, meaning that cost is not the reason why some people are not up to the digital age’s expectations.
On the brighter side, the study also showed that 1 in 5 of the UK adults who do not own a broadband connection do plan to go online in the next six months. The poll results were collected to represent the interest of the 17 million Britons who are not currently online, or in other words the 30% who are offline.
The UK government aims to promote people heading online, which make the Ofcom results a little disappointing as they may have more of a challenge than previously thought in completing their plans.
Yet, according to the study although 42% of the offline population claim they do not have an interest for the internet, out of which many must tend to belong to the older generation, 30% of the population simply reported they were offline because they did not know how to use the internet or it was not financially viable.
Peter Phillips, Ofcom’s market development partner, claimed that broadband is very important to society, and that the results of the poll show that a little creativity will be needed to show those who lack interest just how life changing and beneficial joining the online world could be.
The good news, the Communications Consumer Panel also reported after conducting a study, that 73% of those who do use the internet describe it as an utility that is as essential as electricity or water.
Filed under: Broadband News and Reviews by Alan
