Ofcom broadband speed clarity code

In the past years there has been some debate about ISP's broadband speed claims. This usually is when they say "speeds of up to 10Mb" meaning that you're paying for anything up to that speed, rather than that speed as a minimum. OfCom has introduced a voluntary code of practice for ISPs to sign up to.

This code makes ISPs undertake to make customers aware at the point of sale of an accurate estimate of the maximum speed that they will be able to get from their broadband. They have to offer this service no matter how your purchase your broadband (shop, internet, phone...). ISPs must fix any technical issues resulting in customers not getting their full speed and a choice to move to a lower speed package if the esitmate given at the point of sale is incorrect. OfCom insist that all sales staff should be fully trained so that they can make customers fully aware of what the speed estimates mean. Finally this code of practice makes ISPs warn customers of usage limits and promptly tell customers when they have broken them.

All of the ISP shown on the right hand tool bar have signed up to this. A full list of ISPs which have agreed to the code are avalible on this webpage.

As this is not a compulsary practice companies do not have to agree to it. If companies are found not to be putting effort into the voluntary approach then formal regulations may be brought in.

As of yet these regulations do not fully cover 'mobile broadband'. OfCom plans to bring in futher regulations as part of this code or as a seperate one to control mobile broadband sales.

The reason for bringing in these regulations is that recently there have been complaints that many ISPs are not fully transparent. This is because many ISPs do not give fixed limitation on their services (they use vague 'fair use' policies). This code of practice should help consumers as reports have shown that many people are not fully aware of what the phrase "speeds of up to..." actually means, many not realising that they could only get 1Mb from a 8Mb connection.

More details on this report can be found at the OfCom website: http://www.ofcom.org.uk/media/news/2008/06/nr_20080605

David Macfarlane, Internet Consultant, Future in Sites Ltd.