Proposals include forcing ISPs to be up front about peak time slowdown
UK telecoms watchdog Ofcom has announced new proposals which will require Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to be clearer with customers about download speeds.
As well as informing all customers up front about the peak time speeds customers are likely to experience at the busiest times of day, the plans include forcing providers to give customers a realistic idea of the service they’ll get and a guaranteed minimum speed before sign up.
Under the existing codes of practice, ISPs can advertise their services as capable of delivering a maximum ‘up to’ speed, provided that at least ten per cent of its customers can expect to regularly receive this level of bandwidth.
This is why, despite Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC) technology being capable of delivering a top download speed of 80Mbps, service providers like BT, Sky and TalkTalk only advertise 76Mbps as the maximum available.
Despite that, technological limitations and congestion mean that customers won’t always get close to the headline speeds advertised.
At peak times – evenings and weekends – when lots of people are accessing the same network at the same time, subscribers tend to see their speeds falling. Data from last November shows that peak time average speeds of FTTC-based services fall by 5 per cent compared to the maximum speed while peak-time cable broadband speeds dropped by as much as 26 per cent of their headline speeds.
Ofcom’s new proposals would apply to all ISPs, regardless of the technology used to connect customers.
Consumer group director for Ofcom Lindsey Fussell said: « We want broadband shoppers to know what they’re buying, and what speeds to expect. So, we plan to close the gap between what’s advertised and what’s delivered, giving customers a fuller picture before they commit to a contract.
« We’re also making it easier to walk away from a contract, without penalty, when companies fail to provide the speeds they promise. »
The new plans will also mean that if an ISP fails to deliver the agreed download speed for 30 days, a customer is free to cancel the contract without having to pay a penalty.
Terminations charges vary per ISP and per package and they’re typically multiplied by however many months you’ve got left on your contract. If, for example, you had a 12 month BT Infinity 2 service and you left after six months, you’d potentially be on the hook for six lots of £15.50 – or £93.
Ofcom notes that since the last time it updated the codes of practice, ISPs tend to comply, but there have been instances where services have been missold .
When asked about the new plans a BT spokesperson told PC Mag UK: « We remain firmly supportive of Ofcom’s voluntary code of practice on broadband speeds, including the latest proposed changes which we hope will make things even clearer for our customers. We have been working with Ofcom and other ISPs to improve the code. « We support the emphasis on customers’ knowing what broadband speeds will be delivered at peak times and we are happy to commit to letting customers leave without penalty if they don’t reach their minimum guaranteed speeds and we can’t fix the issue within a month. »
Other ISPs who were contacted for comment did not respond at the time of publication.
