Broadband News
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Virgin Media uses SamKnows figures for real speed transparency
03 Sep 2010 | 09.22 Europe/London
Virgin Media has begun using figures from SamKnows’ performance benchmark to publish the average speeds customers are receiving on its broadband services.
Rather than relying on ‘up to’ speeds, which it claims nine in ten consumers find confusing and do not trust, the fibre (to the cabinet) provider is to publish the average speed the SamKnows performance network reveals its subscribers actually received each month.
It has done this because its recent research has shown more than nine in ten consumers believe that ISPs should publish consistent figures to reveal typical speeds actually experienced rather than ‘up to’ headline speeds.
The first figures Virgin has published, for July 2010, shows its up to 10Mb, 20Mb and 50Mb received 9.5Mb, 18.3Mb and 46.2Mb respectively.
Jon James, executive director of broadband, at Virgin Media said: “People are paying for faster and faster broadband but being ripped off by unscrupulous providers who can’t deliver their promised speeds to even a single customer.
"A change in advertising is urgently needed to build consumer confidence in super-fast broadband and the industry more generally. In the meantime, I hope other ISPs will quickly follow Virgin Media’s lead by disclosing their own monthly performance data so people can make an informed decision about how to spend their money.”
Rather than relying on ‘up to’ speeds, which it claims nine in ten consumers find confusing and do not trust, the fibre (to the cabinet) provider is to publish the average speed the SamKnows performance network reveals its subscribers actually received each month.
It has done this because its recent research has shown more than nine in ten consumers believe that ISPs should publish consistent figures to reveal typical speeds actually experienced rather than ‘up to’ headline speeds.
The first figures Virgin has published, for July 2010, shows its up to 10Mb, 20Mb and 50Mb received 9.5Mb, 18.3Mb and 46.2Mb respectively.
Jon James, executive director of broadband, at Virgin Media said: “People are paying for faster and faster broadband but being ripped off by unscrupulous providers who can’t deliver their promised speeds to even a single customer.
"A change in advertising is urgently needed to build consumer confidence in super-fast broadband and the industry more generally. In the meantime, I hope other ISPs will quickly follow Virgin Media’s lead by disclosing their own monthly performance data so people can make an informed decision about how to spend their money.”