MuniWireless

Ofcom, the telecoms regulator in the United Kingdom, has published a new Code of Practice that will pressure Internet service providers (ISPs) to offer greater clarity over broadband speeds. Many people have complained that advertised broadband speeds were much higher than what they actually received.

Thirty-two ISPs have already signed up to comply with the Code, but it is voluntary. To me that means it has no teeth. Nevertheless, Ofcom is conducting an extensive survey of actual broadband performance across the UK. They’ll find out once and for all just how large the gap is between advertised and actual speeds. I predict next year Ofcom will impose regulations clamping down on the massive fraud that has been going on for years. There are few industries left where businesses are allowed to misrepresent so brazenly what they are selling to the public. This happens not just in the UK but in all countries.

Below is an excerpt from the Ofcom press release:

The Code of Practice

Steps that fixed-line ISPs are required to take under the voluntary Code include:

• providing customers at the point of sale with an accurate estimate of the maximum speed that the line can support, whether it is in the shop, over the internet or on the phone;
• resolving technical issues to improve speed and offering customers the choice to move onto a lower speed package when estimates given are inaccurate;
• ensuring all sales and promotion staff have a proper understanding of the products they are selling so they can explain to their customers the meaning of the estimates provided at the point of sale; and
• providing consumers with information on usage limits and alerting customers when they have breached them.

Ofcom strongly urges all fixed-line ISPs to sign up to this Code and to implement it in full within six months of signing. Ofcom will monitor compliance, including through mystery shopping exercises, to determine if ISPs are meeting both the letter and spirit of the Code. If Ofcom finds that this voluntary approach is not effective in addressing the issues covered by the Code, it will consider introducing formal regulations.

The Code can be found at: http://www.ofcom.org.uk/telecoms/ioi/copbb/copbb/

Related posts:

1. Wide gulf between advertised and actual speeds on UK mobile networks
2. UK broadband speeds much slower than advertised
3. New UK code of conduct for ISPs: help for those baffled with broadband speeds