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Evidently, when it comes to Internet speeds, the age-old adage of 'you get what you pay for' does not apply. Specifically, research carried out by British communications watchdog Ofcom has revealed UK broadband subscribers are being massively short changed by their Internet service providers (ISP).
ISPs not delivering on promised broadband speeds in the UK. Image: Ofcom.
According to Ofcom, while more than half of all broadband users in the UK subscribe to performance packages offering speeds of (up to) 8 megabits per second, most users actually receive an average performance speed of just 3.9 megabits per second.
Although Ofcom has perhaps deflected heat from ISPs by explaining that some of the proffered performance is held back for technical reasons, it said the quickest broadband speeds customers on 8 megabit packages should expect is still approximately 7.2 megabits per second.
However, with that performance ceiling only ever likely for customers situated near the physical telephone exchange responsible for routing their connections, Ofcom said less than 10 percent of all 8 megabit users receive an average speed of more than 6 megabits per second -- while around 20 percent actually receive an average of less than 2 megabits per second.
In assigning partial blame for the performance shortfall, Ofcom said speeds are dramatically affected by the actual connection technologies utilised to provide the broadband service. For example, standard copper-wired DSL connections transfer data considerably slower than more modern and efficient cable broadband connections.
Ofcom's report, part of the UK government's Digital Britain white paper, conducted more than 16 million broadband performance tests in 1,600 homes across the country during a six-month period.
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