The higher you go, the less likely it is your broadband speed will match the maximum punted by your internet service provider (ISP).
This is the key finding of a new study into broadband speeds in the UK and the truth behind the “up to” download speed qualification in which broadband connections are couched.
According to internet research company, Point Topic, as the maximum published speed rating gets higher, the actual proportion of users receiving the top whack download speed decreases dramatically. For users on connections sold as being “up to 16 Mbps” only four per cent of users reported being able to hit the top speed.
‘Up to’ package subscribed to: 512 kbps, % achieving ‘up to’ speed or higher, 72% ; 1 Mbps 60%; 2 Mbps 35%; 4 Mbps 23%; 8 Mbps 15%; 16 Mbps 4%.
Pamela Varley, research analyst at Point Topic, comments: “There are many variables that affect broadband speeds, distance from the exchange, contention, line quality and so on. It is a challenge to be able to factor all these into a calculation that gives you a reliable idea of the actual speed an individual connection will achieve.”
However, Point Topic gave it a go and have produced a formula to the ratio of advertised speeds to achieved speeds by the ‘Big 6’ UK ISPs.
“This ratio shows us how the user experience relates to the advertised speeds,” says Varley, “the closer it is to 1 the closer the speed the user experiences to the speed advertised.”
The figures below represent the percentage of users who say they subscribe to a package advertised at more than 2 Mbps and the percentage that report receiving more than 2 Mbps.
Sky, subscribers to package with advertised speed above 2 mbps, 72.50%; subscribers who report actual speed achieved above 2 Mbps, 57.50%, ratio, 0.79.
Virgin Media 45.24%; 34.23%; 0.76.
Tiscali 60.67%; 43.51% ;0.72.
Carphone Warehouse 64.56%; 42.46%; 0.66.
BT 81.65%; 53.44%; 0.65.
Orange 64.33%; 40.76%; 0.63.
