Broadband News
News, views and analysis
New rules for selling broadband speed, 3 calls for mobile transparency
05 Dec 2008 | 14.28 Europe/London
A new Ofcom code of conduct comes in to effect today, requiring participating ISPs to provide potential customers with an accurate estimate of the speed they will achieve, rather than give a general, vague promise of ‘up to’ the maximum speed possible.
The ISPs which have signed up to the code (representing 95% of the market) must now also give details of what technical issues might impact speed, such as distance from the exchange, and, if a person is not getting the speed they signed up for, the ISP must offer an alternative package at no penalty.
Effectively, the new code places the onus on ISPs to give customers a good idea of what speed they will receive, rather than hide behind an unrealistic marketing offer.
Hence, Anna Bradley, chair of Ofcom’s Communications Consumer Panel claims the code will “help consumers make better informed choices” and the ISPs, which have signed up to, agree.
A TalkTalk spokesman welcomed the new code, pointing out this was how it has already been selling broadband and a spokesperson for Virgin Media told SamKnows the ISP believes some of the guesswork should now be taken out of buying broadband.
“We welcome Ofcom's broadband code of practice and we’re fully compliant with the code,” the spokesperson commented. “Not all broadband services are the same and we agree that consumers are sometimes confused by competing marketing claims. We hope the code will help de-mystify what's on offer and allow people to choose the product that's right for them.”
Although the code is being welcomed in the fixed line broadband market, mobile broadband remains an area where there is still much room for improvement, according to Graham Baxter, chief technical officer at 3. Following Vodafone recently being wrapped on the knuckles for selling mobile broadband packages on the basis of what was feasibly possible, rather than actually attainable, he believes the mobile market is in need of greater transparency.
'We think setting realistic expectations about speed is important, that's why we have steered clear of making claims based on numbers like 3.6mbps and 7.2mbps, which are impossible to deliver to customers,” he told SamKnows.
“Those numbers just refer to a technical standard. There are many factors effecting the speeds users experience with mobile broadband – building clutter and even leaves can have an impact. We think a big consideration when buying mobile broadband is the reach of the network, the distance a user is from a mast and the capacity of the pipe that connects the mast to the internet.
“It's not just about speed, it's about access, convenience and the mobility offered by a big mobile broadband network.”
The ISPs which have signed up to the code (representing 95% of the market) must now also give details of what technical issues might impact speed, such as distance from the exchange, and, if a person is not getting the speed they signed up for, the ISP must offer an alternative package at no penalty.
Effectively, the new code places the onus on ISPs to give customers a good idea of what speed they will receive, rather than hide behind an unrealistic marketing offer.
Hence, Anna Bradley, chair of Ofcom’s Communications Consumer Panel claims the code will “help consumers make better informed choices” and the ISPs, which have signed up to, agree.
A TalkTalk spokesman welcomed the new code, pointing out this was how it has already been selling broadband and a spokesperson for Virgin Media told SamKnows the ISP believes some of the guesswork should now be taken out of buying broadband.
“We welcome Ofcom's broadband code of practice and we’re fully compliant with the code,” the spokesperson commented. “Not all broadband services are the same and we agree that consumers are sometimes confused by competing marketing claims. We hope the code will help de-mystify what's on offer and allow people to choose the product that's right for them.”
Although the code is being welcomed in the fixed line broadband market, mobile broadband remains an area where there is still much room for improvement, according to Graham Baxter, chief technical officer at 3. Following Vodafone recently being wrapped on the knuckles for selling mobile broadband packages on the basis of what was feasibly possible, rather than actually attainable, he believes the mobile market is in need of greater transparency.
'We think setting realistic expectations about speed is important, that's why we have steered clear of making claims based on numbers like 3.6mbps and 7.2mbps, which are impossible to deliver to customers,” he told SamKnows.
“Those numbers just refer to a technical standard. There are many factors effecting the speeds users experience with mobile broadband – building clutter and even leaves can have an impact. We think a big consideration when buying mobile broadband is the reach of the network, the distance a user is from a mast and the capacity of the pipe that connects the mast to the internet.
“It's not just about speed, it's about access, convenience and the mobility offered by a big mobile broadband network.”
Be good if Three or in fact any operator published clear maps of coverage areas and put the data costs in some machine readable format.
These rules seem to limit them from making crazy claims....grr... Baby steps.
05 Dec 2008 | 16.28 Europe/London