| The UK is quickly becoming a country that is falling | | | | been used by companies that don't offer unlimited |
| behind when it comes to broadband speeds. While | | | | broadband at all, and are more than happy to send |
| other countries are ploughing huge amounts of money | | | | consumers warning letters and additional charges if |
| into their broadband network, the UK government | | | | they use too much of their bandwidth in too short a |
| won't commit to even the most basic of speed | | | | time. |
| promises, even though we don't have to worry about | | | | Just like with the figures for speed, these limits are |
| the challenging geographic conditions of countries like | | | | often vague - if mentioned at all - and usually not |
| Japan or America or the financial pressures facing the | | | | accompanied by any explanation of what they mean. |
| developing world. | | | | We might live in a much more technically minded world |
| But there's another problem that consumers have to | | | | than we did even ten years ago, but recent studies |
| face when trying to figure out an already complicated | | | | have shown that there are still a large portion of the |
| and confusing market - what speed they will actually | | | | public who don't know what terms like bandwidth |
| get. It's recently been reported that the average speed | | | | actually mean. Without help, consumers can often find |
| in the UK is around 4 Mbps, while the average speed | | | | themselves stuck in lengthy contracts and either |
| advertised by broadband providers is 11 Mbps; nearly | | | | having to buy themselves out or put up with bad |
| three times the average. | | | | service. |
| This big gap means that more and more consumers | | | | It's not all bad though, Virgin and continuing to expand |
| aren't achieving the broadband speeds that they think | | | | their fibre optic service to more and more customers, |
| they are paying for, with big companies taking | | | | which offers not only faster speeds than average but |
| advantage of the non technically minded that aren't | | | | can also achieve close to the speeds advertised for |
| exactly sure what speed they are receiving. | | | | most consumers. BT are also working on a fibre optic |
| Decades old computer lingo doesn't help either. Files | | | | broadband roll-out which is already connected to about |
| are reported in Megabtyes, while broadband speed is | | | | 400,000 households and hopes to connect several |
| reported in Megabits. There's a massive difference | | | | million more by the end of 2012. Both services are |
| between the two, but how many consumers know - | | | | available for a competitive price that won't break the |
| or should be expected to know - exactly what they | | | | bank compared to standard ADSL services. |
| are? While it's true that we should all be willing to do a | | | | There's still a long way to go before we can expect |
| bit of research before buying broadband just like any | | | | total transparency in the UK when it comes to |
| product, it seems the broadband market takes | | | | broadband speed and bandwidth, and perhaps even |
| everything a little too far in making the consumer jump | | | | longer before we start seeing speeds that people in |
| through hoops. | | | | mainland Europe have already been enjoying for |
| Luckily, some of the more frustrating areas of the | | | | several years. In the mean time, word of mouth and |
| market are now being given a strict review by | | | | broadband comparison sites continue to be useful tools |
| regulatory body, Ofcom. One of the biggest areas | | | | for figuring out which ISP is going to offer the best |
| they are looking at over the next few months is the | | | | service. |
| use of the word unlimited which has for a long time | | | | |