Yesterday Ofcom, announced that it wants all broadband providers to change their advertising policies. The Watchdog wants advertisers to quote average and not maximum speeds.
Ofcom found out that the average speed advertised by providers was 13.8 Mbps, whereas the actual average speed was two times lower, 6.2 Mbps. As such, in 2009 a study carried by SamKnows revealed that an average advertised speed stood at 7.1 Mbps compared to actual speed of 4.1 Mbps.
Commenting on its decision, Ofcom experts said that "it is important that the rules around broadband advertising change so that consumers are able to make more informed decisions based on the adverts they see, and that advertisers are able to communicate more clearly how their products compare to others in the market."