UK Broadband speeds lower than headline rates
Research undertaken by GfK Technology in partnership with Ofcom and Samknows reveals actual throughput download speed for broadband is far lower than advertised ‘headline’ speed. Our research found that the average throughput download speed received by our representative panel of UK broadband consumers was 3.6Mbit/s in the 30 days from 23 October 2008.
This represents 49% of the average ‘headline’ speed (7.2Mbit/s) and 83% of the average maximum line speed (4.3Mbit/s). Consumers on the most popular broadband headline speed package (‘up to’ 8Mbit/s) received an average actual throughput speed of 3.6Mbit/s (45% of headline speed), and they had an average maximum line speed of 4.5Mbit/s (56% of headline speed).
Whilst, at one level, these findings are somewhat alarming for consumers, we also found that eighty-three per cent of consumers said that, overall, they are satisfied with their broadband service. However, a quarter of consumers stated that the speeds they receive are not what they expected when they signed up to their broadband service.
GfK Technology recruited 1,621 panellists to install a broadband monitoring unit connected to their router. The panel was carefully designed to reflect UK demographics, the market share of the leading ISPs and the distribution of headline speeds.
