Ofcom today published a report on broadband speeds and consumer satisfaction of broadband services in the UK.
The report found that UK consumers receive an average broadband speed of 3.6MB. This compares with an average maximum possible speed of 4.3MB across the UK.
As any broadband internet user will tell you, speed counts. Internet speed is a major factor when choosing an Internet Service Provider (ISP) and the latest report from Ofcom suggests that many UK broadband internet users aren’t getting the speeds they expected from their chosen package.
- Speeds varied considerably between consumers: one in five people on an “up to” 8MB package receive an average speed of less than 2MB.
- Over a quarter of consumers claim that the speeds they receive are not what they expected when they signed up to their broadband service.
- Overall dissatisfaction with broadband is higher among rural users than among urban users. This may be because they tend to receive slower speeds as they typically live further away from the telephone exchange.
- 53% of people on 2MB packages are dissatisfied with the speed whilst watching or downloading full length movies.
- Price and speed were mentioned as the two main factors when comparing ISP’s with younger users (18-24) more likely to do this with 81% comparing price and 62% comparing speeds.
Internet speeds can lag due to overcrowded telephone exchanges
Taking these points into account, one can see the importance of comparing different broadband providers on aspects such as speed, download limit and of course, price. There are broadband offers out there that cater to all ranges of browsing needs from the basic 2MB package, suitable for web browsing and light downloads to Virgin Media’s 50MB package suited towards those who heavily download music, films and TV shows.
Want to know more?
If you need to speak to someone to find out which broadband package is right for you, why not give one of our Digital Experts a call on 0800 466 1047..