Broadband speeds

22 February 2008

 

Broadband.  How fast is yours?  2Meg, 8Meg or 24Meg?  Are your customers, readers, viewers or listeners getting the broadband speeds that are claimed?

In many instances the answer is “no”.  Before the autumn of 2006, the only qualifying claim required to alert consumers to a figure that in all probability would never be achieved was the traditionally required get-out phrase “up to”.  In 2006, a landmark ASA adjudication on the advertising of broadband speeds decided otherwise.  The decision highlighted that the speed a consumer might achieve could fall some way below the advertised speed claim.
 
The service speed experienced by consumers might not reach that claimed for two reasons.  The first is the number of consumers using a local exchange at any given time; the second is signal attenuation caused by a consumer’s distance from the local exchange.  The first reason is, largely, uncontrollable and unpredictable but the second is a factor that affects the speed of the service regardless of when the consumer is using broadband. Furthermore, attenuation is a real problem for a significant number of consumers, so the ASA concluded that its effect should be explicitly stated in advertisements that quoted broadband speed.

Because the problem affected a whole industry, CAP contacted all providers in the industry informing them but, in recent months, many providers have let the statement slip out of the body copy and into the footnote.  The Compliance team has recently had to contact several providers to reiterate its earlier advice so we thought now was a good time to ensure the wider industry was reminded of the requirement and to be vigilant in light of calls for tighter statutory regulation.

A slightly confusing factor is that the statement is not necessary for speeds of 2Meg.  The attenuation is less notable on 2Meg services and so only the “up to” qualification is necessary.  That is, however, the only exception and all other, quicker, speeds should be qualified.  If you are in any doubt, consult our Copy Advice team on 020 7492 2210 or e-mail copyadvice@cap.org.uk.