Firms 'failing over download speed'

[Gazer]

Firms 'failing over download speed'
Broadband customers are still receiving less than half the download speed they pay for, according to new research.
Companies are delivering an average of 48% of their advertised download speed, according to comparison website broadband-expert.co.uk.
The study tested 41,230 UK broadband connections during February and March, comparing the actual speed customers were achieving against the maximum speed quoted for their package. It revealed significant differences between providers and found packages quoting lower maximum speeds were more like to be accurate.
Providers who promised to deliver speeds of 16Mb were actually achieving an average of.6Mb, the study found. Customers on 2Mb packages achieved on average 1.8Mb or 88% of the quoted maximum speed, while customers on 8Mb received 3.4Mb or 43%.
The best performers in the 2Mb category were Virgin Media's cable service, Talk Talk and UK Online, who all delivered slightly more than the advertised speed.
Even the poorest performers, Tiscali, Pipex and Toucan, achieved 68%, 70% and 73% respectively.
In the 8Mb category, O2 and Be achieved 73% and 68% of advertised speeds, compared to 26% for Toucan and 29% for Virgin Media's ADSL service and Eclipse.
Virgin Media's cable service achieved the fastest speed in the over-16Mb category with an average of 10.4Mb or 52% of the 20Mb top speed.
The only other provider to deliver more than 50% of the advertised maximum speed was UK Online, which achieved 62% of the 16Mb top speed, delivering an average of 9.99Mb.
Broadband Expert technical director William Harvey said: "It seems clear that providers are promising speeds far greater than they are capable of delivering with top end packages. If the providers set a realistic expectation of the speeds that can be achieved, they are much less likely to upset consumers than those who advertise fast speeds and under-deliver."