Broadband News

Despite efforts to make broadband advertisements clearer to the customer, many are still misleading, according to one expert.

Dina Greek of Computeract!ve magazine says that even though Ofcom’s Code of Practice - which came into effect in June - required broadband providers to be "more up front" when advertising, customers are still paying for speeds that they are not likely to enjoy.

She said that the wording used by many broadband providers when promoting their packages is responsible for the confusion.

"Although some have been rapped over the knuckles by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for not making it clear that most people would never get the advertised speeds, most have protected themselves by using the words ‘up to’ before speeds in adverts," Miss Greek said.

She continued: "The problem is that many people take little notice of those words. They genuinely believe they will get at least near to these advertised headline speeds and don’t understand why they don’t."

According to recent research by Broadband Choices, in the 8mb category Karoo was the provider whose speeds were closest to those advertised over June this year.