Internet service providers will only be able to achieve advertised download speeds if they adopt fibre optic broadband technology, it has been claimed.

According to ISPreview.co.uk's founder Mark Jackson, as Ofcom tightens-up its regulations on broadband internet advertising, new technologies will be the only way for broadband providers to maintain their headline rates.

Mr Jackson claimed: "Estimating the speed of ADSL and ADSL2+ based broadband lines is very difficult because they are very susceptible to problems.

"Only by replacing the old copper wire infrastructure with new fibre optic lines can we truly break away and give consumers what they expect."

He said that while many firms have upgraded their cabling, ADSL2+ performance is affected by the distance an internet user is from a telephone exchange.

His comments come after a survey conducted by ISPreview.co.uk showed that the majority of broadband internet users were still unhappy with their connection speeds, when measured against advertised rates.