BT supplies over eight million people and have come out and said that many customers are disappointed with the speeds they get compared to what was advertised. In a survey it found that only 15% of people paying for eight megabit per second broadband actually receive those speeds.



BT have said that regulators need to agree a set of rules about how broadband speeds are sold to potential customers stating -

"The reality is we are all trying to push the technology,"

"The industry needs to join together with Ofcom to agree a set of principles as to how these messages should be communicated and advertised so that the understanding with the consumer is as accurate as it can be."

Whilst BT offers DSL max products with a variety of different speeds up to eight megabites per second, it does tell customers (the isps) that actual speeds will vary from user to user.

Cameron Rejali, Managing Director of Products at BT Wholesale, said it is up to the ISPs how they market broadband, "but if they are marketing it badly, the market will punish them."

BT said users need to know about the process and that there is a difference between the line speed - what the line between their home and the exchange can support - and what it describes as "throughput", a measure of the data coming down the line during an activity such as the downloading of a video.

Only 35% of BT's DSL Max customers are achieving an eight mbps line speed - the rest will see their speed cut by factors such as distance from the exchange, poor equipment, and interference from electrical appliances.

But none of these five million users will achieve eight mbps "throughput" because of internet congestion and other network issues that can affect the speed of the internet connection.

"The reality is if you are very far from an exchange or there are environmental factors then your speed will come down and there is not much we can do in the short-term to address that problem," said Mr Bradshaw.

Ofcom is now currently reviewing the way broadband is marketed to consumers.

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