BT Wholesale

INDUSTRY NEWS


10 June 2008

New Broadband Advertising Rules 'Lack Bite'


ISPReview.co.uk has welcomed Ofcom's Code of Practice, which seeks to regulate the way in which broadband speeds are advertised, but warned that a lack of bite to the voluntary agreement threatens to render it useless.

The independent broadband news site questioned the effectiveness of a voluntary code that ISPs can choose not to follow, and questioned what sanctions will be used to encourage them to stick to the Code.

Mark Jackson, editor-in-chief of the website, also criticised the regulator's decision to focus on line speeds, explaining that an "independent throughput test" would have provided a more realistic solution in terms of connection speeds that are attainable.

"Though many ISPs play by the rules, some continue to promote their services as though the headline rate is what a customer can expect to achieve, which is deeply misleading," he said.

"We welcome Ofcom's move to nudge ISPs towards a greater degree of honesty, although it's not entirely clear what happens when a member ISP fails to keep up its end; a lack of teeth to the agreement threatens its effectiveness. "

Last month, claims by Ofcom that rural areas are now better served for broadband were questioned, when a survey of 13,000 broadband customers commissioned by BBC found that people in London go online at average speeds twice those of rural areas such as Northern Ireland and Wales.

© 2006 Adfero Ltd.

MORE INDUSTRY NEWS

  • UPDATED 10/06/2008

    AIM Market 'Continues to Grow'

    Revenue in the market for application architecture and middleware (AIM) grew to $14.1 billion .....