Home phone News

New rules on broadband speeds

Thursday 29 September, 2011

By Garnet Roach

Home phone and broadband providers will need to change the way packages are advertised once new rules come into place.

Broadband speeds often feature prominently in bundle deals, but consumers can rarely, if ever, get the advertised speeds.

Now new rules from the advertising regulators means that home phone and broadband providers will only be able to publish speeds at least 10% of their customers can get.

The Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) also tightened the rules on how providers can use the term “unlimited” to describe packages.

Some 74% of households now have a broadband connection, with the vast majority using their telephone line to access the web - so the new rules affect the way that the UK’s many bundles are advertised as well as standalone broadband packages.

James Best, chairman of CAP, said: “This new guidance directly responds to consumer concerns by setting an appropriately high bar for advertisers who want to make speed and ‘unlimited’ claims in ads. Advertising is only effective if consumers trust the messages they see and hear. This guidance will help deliver that.”

However, the Communications Consumer Panel, which advises Ofcom on consumer issues, argued that the measures were “extremely unsatisfactory”.

The Panel, which has been calling on internet service providers (ISPs) to ditch “misleading” speed claims for some time, said: “Consumers are still unable to make an informed choice of which ISP gives them the best internet speeds overall if only 10% of a provider’s customers get the maximum advertised speed.”