Broadband: Increase your speed

Monday, 03 August 2009 10:41

Last week Ofcom opened a can of warms over internet speed as it was revealed most of the major internet service providers only provide on average half of the maximum advertised speeds.

There is one major reason for this; the fact firms are allowed to advertise internet speeds of 'up to' whatever the speed they are offering.

The Advertising Standards Authority allows this - despite a number of complaints - because there are no other ways of measuring internet speeds.

So what does the 'up to' refer to?

The headline speed is the speed of the internet connection leaving the exchange. This means if you live in the local exchange or next door you will get this speed. However, the further you live away from the exchange and the busier the time of day is the slower the speed is.

And most people will not get this advertised speed.

Jason Glynn, communications expert at uSwitch.com, says: "In Ofcom's press briefing, it was actually admitted that no-one on an 8Mb package can get an 8Mb speed.

"Consumers will be very concerned that the industry has been promising something that it cannot deliver - many people purchase broadband packages based on the advertised speed - some of these will today be feeling sorely disappointed."

Michael Phillips, product director at BroadbandChoices.co.uk adds: "Broadband providers should be obliged to advertise speeds in the same way that loan advertisements detail actual percentage rates and repayments, with a 'typical speed achieved' rather than a theoretical maximum that no one can receive."

The shocking fact is that consumers are getting half of the advertised speed on average. Receiving ten per cent less on average may be acceptable, but not just half.

The speed test results by Ofcom are below:

The one firm sticking out is Virgin Media.

Virgin is able to offer faster connections because it uses its fibre optic connections. As BT lays its fire optic network, which other providers will be able to use, others will be able to go faster.

But in the meantime, slow internet and jumps in connections with TV shows pausing need to carry on.

Virgin Media has hit out at the use of 'up to' in adverts for internet speed - although one suspects this is because they can and if the table were turned their moral high ground may be a little more grounded.

A Virgin Media spokesperson said: "Today's report emphatically demonstrates that the 'up to' marketing claims of most copper-based broadband providers are not to be trusted, with most major ISPs delivering less than half of what they promise."

However, the firm says it is committed to changing its advertising campaigns in future to show real speeds customers get.

BT has defended its use of 'up to' - saying its new faster ADSL2+ service is capable of reaching up to 24mbit/s, but it is only advertised at 20.

It adds the Ofcom data is "unreliable".

BT spokesperson said the firm has already started to move its customers onto more advanced broadband which offers a far more reliably fast service at peak times.

"BT has ambitious plans for fibre optic broadband which will be rolled out to many parts of the UK next year and which will deliver speeds way in excess of what Virgin offers most of its customers today," she said.

BT is also pushing forward plans for 10 million people to have fibre optic connections by 2012.

Promises of faster speeds may be coming - but how can you make your broadband faster at home?

Ofcom has a number of tips - see the video below.

Also BroadbandChoices.co.uk has put together some tips:

Test your speed Use a speed tester to measure the level at which your broadband connection is currently running.

Knowing your speed - so carry out a few different tests with different tools is needs be - will let you know if you need to make improvements.

Reposition the router Electrical inference from TVs or cordless phones and have a significant effect.
Also a wall or closed door between a wireless router and a computer can affect speeds. It may be worthwhile investing in a better router or dropping wireless for wires.

Disable P2P software TV download applications such as BBC iPlayer and 4 On Demand often continue to run in the background even when you think you've turned them off as they continually upload and download.

This will not only slow you down but can also use up your download allowance. To avoid this, check the settings and set the programme to 'no peer to peer,' so it won't run when you are not using it.

Traffic jams The time of day at which you go online can greatly affect connection speeds.

When lots of people are trying to access the internet at the same time there is increased traffic on the physical phone lines and also each website's servers. Heaviest traffic is usually in the evenings, so to benefit from the fastest speeds you should try to surf when internet traffic is low, generally in the day time or very late at night.

If you have heavy downloading to do, you will get the fastest download speeds during off-peak periods.

Switch If your provider is not fast even consider switching.
However, make sure you are not going to face cancellation charges from your current provider for breaking the contract.

Also, a major factor is the distance between your home and the exchange and this will not change with the new provider - unless you opt for a fibre optic service.

When signing up to a new provider they should - under a code of conduct organised by Ofcom - state what a typical speed will be.

Also consider if it is worth upgrading for a faster package - but this very much depends on your usage. For an idle browser watching occasional films the same speeds might not be needed as a heavy downloader.

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