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Only one of top 12 ISPs raised listed speed after new truth-in-advertising rule.
Most broadband providers in the UK "have been forced to cut the headline speeds they advertise when selling deals" because of new UK rules requiring accurate speed claims, according to a consumer advocacy group.
"Eleven major suppliers have had to cut the advertised speed of some of their deals, with the cheapest deals dropping by 41 percent," the group wrote last week.
The analysis was conducted by Which?, a brand name used by the Consumers' Association, a UK-based charity that does product research and advocacy on behalf of consumers.
"BT, EE, John Lewis Broadband, Plusnet, Sky, Zen Internet, Post Office, SSE, TalkTalk, and Utility Warehouse previously advertised their standard (ADSL) broadband deals as 'up to 17Mbps,'" the group noted in its announcement on Saturday. "The new advertised speed is now more than a third lower at 10Mbps or 11Mbps."
"TalkTalk has completely dropped advertising speed claims from most of its deals," the consumer group also said. "Vodafone has also changed the name of some of its deals: Fibre 38 and Fibre 76 are now Superfast 1 and Superfast 2."
The new rules were implemented in May by the Committees of Advertising Practice, the UK ad industry's self-regulatory body. Which? said it had been "campaigning for an advertising change since 2013."
Previously, ISPs were allowed to advertise broadband speeds of "up to" a certain amount, even if only one in 10 customers could ever get those speeds, Which? wrote. "But the new advertising rules mean that at least half of customers must now be able to get an advertised average speed, even during peak times (8-10pm)," the group said.
The entry-level speed tiers were apparently the least accurate before the rule change. While advertised speeds dropped the most on entry-level tiers, there were drops in higher-speed tiers as well.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 08 2018, @08:37AM (1 child)
We passed this DMCA to bring copyright law into the internet age. We sorely need a Digital Millenium Billing Act so as to bring billing law as well into the internet age. They do not have to deliver, and you do not have to pay for what you did not get. Pro-Rate it. Have your system log just how fast you got the data... pay for that. Its all copyrighted code anyway that does this, protected by electronic lock, protected by DMCA.
Just have it verified that it reports accurately. Like the metering valve on a gasoline pump. And pay for what you get.
I think we will see this problem go away big-time when up-to payments start arriving that match up to the up-to speeds advertised.
Now, we would be furious if we went to a bar and was served beer in the manner an ISP serves data. Up to 32 ounces of beer for less than $10! Order one... bill comes to $12.36 ( they added fees ), and its got three tablespoons of beer in it!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 08 2018, @08:55AM
Except that DMCA takedown notices are garbage because they encourage a censor-first-ask-questions-later policy; that's the entire point. Keep safe harbor and get rid of the takedown notice system. Force companies to go to court to get a court order in order to remove material. It would be harder to enforce copyright, but the principle of due process should not vanish just to make things easier for copyright holders.