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Stop the broadband con! Virgin Media and Branson tell other ISPs
Manoj Solanki, Thursday November 18, 2010 - 9:12 PMVirgin Media has slammed other broadband ISPs over misleading advertised speeds and even launched a website to petition against it.
Stopthebroadbandcon.org was launched yesterday, and allows web users to sign a petition (following registration) aimed at getting broadband ISPs (ie. using ADSL / ADSL2 over a phoneline) to publish the real speeds delivered to customers. Users can also test their broadband speed there (provided by speedtest.net).
Jon James, executive director of broadband at Virgin Media says: “People are paying for superfast broadband but receiving a service stuck in the slow lane.”
Virgin Media’s broadband service operates over fibre-optic broadband, whereas all other broadband providers generally use a phoneline to provide ADSL / ADSL2 services, which has physical limits, meaning the speed drops the further away a user’s premises is from the telelphone exchange.
BT itself is currently in the early stages of deploying Fibre-optic broadband to around 40% of homes and businesses in the UK, and should offer speeds of around 40Mb. The service will also be available as a wholesale product for other ISPs to sell on.
Adding weight to the campagin, Virgin group founder Richard Branson said: “Staying connected is central to our lives and we all deserve broadband we can trust. I’m challenging all broadband providers to be honest with their customers and ask people to add their voice to the campaign by signing up to Stopthebroadbandcon.org.”
Virgin Media quotes the average download speed for ‘up to’ 20/24Mb DSL packages as 6.5Mb, as published in the Ofcom 2010 UK broadband speeds report. The Cable probider also says frustration is high amongst customers according to research from ICM (commissioned by Virgin Media), with 93% of respondents in the survey agreeing that the rules should be changed so ISPs cannot make speed claims unless they match what is actually received.
Of its own service, Virgin Media says it publishes the typical speeds received by customers for all 10Mb, 20Mb and 50Mb broadband services.
2 Comments »
OK Virgin – put your money where your mouth is and provide your fast fibre broadband to those of us who don’t live in large towns!
Comment by Steve — November 19, 2010 #
its a bit like the pot calling the kettle black? Virgin’s broadband is not ‘fibre optic broadband’ unless it is delivered through fibre to the home. If it uses cabinets and coax cable it is still fibre through the copper. Despite the inept ASA holding up the virgin advert. If it aint fibre it ain’t next gen. Up to 40megabits is not next gen. True next gen is gigabits capacity and has no copper anywhere.
chris
Comment by cyberdoyle — November 19, 2010 #