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Are you happy with your broadband speed?

According to Ofcom’s latest consumer report, there is increasing dissatisfaction with broadband speeds.

The report states that almost a fifth of customers are unhappy with broadband speeds.

Of those surveyed, 55% were also unaware of their actual broadband connection speed.  Ofcom put this down to newer (non-techy?) broadband customers who are less familiar with broadband technology.  Ofcom however also claims that press coverage about advertised (headline) speeds differing from actual connection speeds may have aided confusion.

On the plus side, complaints about broadband migration (switching providers) were down.  Over 90% of customers also recognised multiple broadband providers, suggesting increase customer awareness and a willingness to shop around for a better deal.

A quarter of customers stated that there was an instance in the last six months where broadband speeds had not met expectations.  However, what this really means is anybody’s guess.  It could mean that a user was annoyed for about 3 minutes by a slow connection, or that a user had a frequently slow connection that stopped them from using the Internet effectively.

Broadband speeds can of course vary, and broadband suppliers only work from a basic headline speed when advertising their services.  For a BT fixed-line (ADSL) connection, the distance to the exchange being the primary factor.   All broadband connections however may be affected by other factors, such as the number of users on the network, how busy the site you are visiting is, even the spec of your PC or laptop!

Ofcom acknowledged that it wasn’t receiving significant complaints about broadband speeds, but research indicates it is a concern for some customers.