Broadband Firms in UK Must Ditch 'Misleading' Speed Ads (bbc.com)

An anonymous reader shares a report: Broadband firms will no longer be able to advertise their fast net services based on the speeds just a few customers get, from May next year. Currently ISPs are allowed to use headline speeds that only 10% of customers will actually receive. In future, adverts must be based on what is available to at least half of customers at peak times. It follows research that suggested broadband advertising can be misleading for consumers. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) looked into consumers' understanding of broadband speed claims and found that many were confused by headline speeds that they would never actually get in their own homes. The concerns were passed on to the Committees of Advertising Practice (Cap) which consulted with ISPs, consumer groups and Ofcom to find a better way to advertise fast net services. Most argued that the fairest and clearest way would be to use the average speeds achieved at peak time by 50% of customers.

Comments

It took so long

[La Gris]

These twaddles are as old as ISPs. I just wonder why it took so long. Most ISPs are advertising the RAW carrier bit-rate rather than the actual net data bit-rate. DSL Provider show you ATM bit-rate. You can roughly cut 10-12% for the real BPS. And it still represents the raw data rate between your modem and the DSLAM. Even when you get optimal link there, the local collect loop is either deliberately throttled or saturated. By the time your data can travel to or from outside your ISPs internal network, it is already diminished. Getting VDSL2 here advertised as up-to 100up/30down MBPs. Lines has 0 loss, 0 CRC, and talks at 90/25 MBs. Even if it is encapsulated in an ATM transmission with 10% loss. That make it still like 80 Down / 25 Up. In reality ISP is throttling it to 25-30 Down 20 Up because their fiber to the central has not enough capacity in my area. Sheepples here don't care as long as they can go to Facebook to post their pathetic lolcats. Good hope some advertising regulators pay attention. Was about time they did.

Re:It took so long

[AmiMoJo]

They should force ISPs to reveal where there is congestion on their networks. The national speed might be good, but in your area there is oversubscription and no intention to do any upgrades so what you get is much lower.