Ofcom is pushing for clarity for consumers by urging the UK’s biggest internet providers to provide more information about their broadband speeds.
By using the words “up to” in their adverts, suppliers are getting away with selling 8Mb packages that actually run an average speed of only 2.7Mb per second.
The finding from Which? , is concerning Ofcom’s consumer panel that customers of supposedly trusted ISPs feel they are not getting what they pay for.
Broadband take-up in general, however, remains “good”, Ofcom said, with the average headline speed now double what is was last year (2.3Mbps).
UK consumers continue to increase their appetite for faster services, the regulator said in its current consultation, prompting an increasing number of new broadband providers.
A more crowded market has led to a decline in monthly subscription fees, which Ofcom notes have fallen by an average of 9% since last year.
Although positive for the consumer, some companies are feeling the pinch: Carphone Warehouse reported this week that it signed up only 89,000 customers to AOL and TalkTalk.
Analysts point out that the new additions in the second quarter to the end of September fall short of the 103,000 sign-ups expected, and represent a 29% drop on the previous quarter.
And though its profitability increased, and a competitive advantage is soon expected by distributing the iPhone, the firm has set an audacious target for future broadband sign-ups.
Charles Dunstone, its chief executive, says up to 250,000 customers will sign up over the second half of 2007; ambitious given it added just 7,000 a week in the first half of the year.
The fall in sign-ups for Carphone Warehouse has been made public in the same week that Vodafone expanded its presence in home broadband, with the £537m purchase of Tele2.
Analyst house Ovum says telcos are increasingly moving into new territory by exploring content distribution, in a sign that revenues from broadband might not be enough.
The firm also believes the increasingly crowded market place for broadband is, in part, thanks to media companies that wish to evolve their traditional business.
Evidencing the claim, Ovum pointed to the Discovery Channel and MTV, which, as early adopters of technology, want to net value from distributing digital content via multiple platforms.
Oct 17, 2007
Email this article
Printer friendly page
Previous Page
