13 March 2008
Only a small group of people signed up to broadband services offering download speeds of up to 16 Mbps actually benefit from the optimum, a new report claims.
Research by Point Topic discovered that of those signed up for a broadband service with a maximum download speed of 16 Mbps, only 4% actually achieve this.
Of those signed up for 8 Mbps services, 15% achieve the optimum, while 77% of those subscribed to 4 Mbps speeds are unable to achieve the maximum.
Pamela Varley, Point Topic research analyst, said there are many variables that affect download speeds, such as the line quality and distance from the exchange.
"It is a challenge to be able to factor all these into a calculation that gives you a reliable idea of the actual speed an individual connection will achieve," she added.
Comparing the UK's six largest internet service providers, Point Topic found that subscribers to Sky's services offering speeds above 2 Mbps have come closest to experiencing the advertised speeds.
Virgin Media and Tiscali users were just behind Sky's, with Orange, BT and Carphone Warehouse making up the bottom half of the top six table.
Last year, Ofcom said it was investigating claims that subscribers were not benefiting from the speeds advertised by certain broadband providers, the BBC reported.
© 2008 Adfero Ltd
Content for the uSwitch.com market news service is provided by a third party, Adfero Ltd. Whilst uSwitch.com makes reasonable efforts to check the reliability of this content, uSwitch.com does not guarantee the accuracy thereof or endorse the views or opinions given by Adfero Ltd, unless expressly stated otherwise.