While updating our database of around 200 UK ISPs today we noticed that the Utility Warehouse had just joined Sky Broadband and the Post Office by adopting average advertised broadband download speeds, which sit alongside their old ‘up to‘ (fastest 10% of customers) figures.
At present most ISPs tend to promote headline speeds using the “up to” prefix, which requires that advertised speeds should be achievable by at least 10% of their customers (i.e. the fastest 10% on a specific connection). This only applies to generally advertised speeds (i.e. those shown to everybody on a public website or in print) and is separate to the personal speed estimate that many providers offer after you start the order process.
However, the above rule is due to end on 23rd May 2018, when the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) adopts a new guideline that effectively requires all broadband providers to start promoting “average speeds“. This will reflect a median measured at peak time (8pm to 10pm) on their public packages (here).
So far less than a handful of ISPs have adopted the new guidelines and today they’ve been joined by UW. Much like Sky, UW has decided to retain their old ‘up to‘ speeds and add the new measure of average performance alongside.
We expect each provider on Openreach’s network to have a slightly different average for the same connection technologies, which is due to the variable balance of customers with different line capabilities (e.g. some ISPs may have more subscribers with faster FTTC lines than others). This appears to show below as the figures are a little bit different from the same plans on the PO and Sky.
Utility Warehouse Advertised Speeds
STANDARD BROADBAND (ADSL2+)
11Mbps average download speed
16Mbps top download speedULTRA FIBRE BROADBAND (FTTC / VDSL2)
35Mbps average download speed
38Mbps top download speedULTRA+ FIBRE BROADBAND (FTTC / VDSL2)
63Mbps average download speed
76Mbps top download speed
Curiously UW doesn’t use ‘up to‘ on their old speeds and prefers to list these as “top” speeds, which they define as the “maximum possible speed for this product.” This is technically incorrect since the “top” speeds only reflect the fastest 10% but some very good lines can go a little faster than this (e.g. we could get 18-19Mbps on the standard broadband package).
I should say that we aren’t going to highlight every single provider that introduces the new measure. Instead we’re only noting those mainstream ISPs that have introduced it early, before the recommended guidelines are formally enforced. In addition, some of the early averages we’re seeing appear to be a little.. optimistic (hard to independently verify as the test data isn’t public).
Vodafone did that in 2017.
Vodafone are still advertising the old headline ‘up to’ (10%) rates.
This use of average speeds seems totally pointless to me.
For a particular line it incorporates two completely independent factors – line performance (distance/cable quality/interference) and congestion.
Each of those could be broken down into so many more subfactors.
Over the whole customer base it also covers how the customers are distributed between varying line lengths, congested links etc.
Only the ISP congestion is under the control of the ISP the rest is with Openreach.
It doesn’t give me an indication as to how my line will perform – which is after all what a prospective customer wants to know.
“This use of average speeds seems totally pointless to me.”
Its not pointless at all, typical Joe Public does not know how the technology works or what can affect it, all they want to know is what speed out of the “upto” figure they are likely to get… The new rules will deliver that.
“what speed out of the “upto” figure they are likely to get…”
It doesn’t do this at all, for all the reasons I explained above.
And as i explained to you the typical joe public does not comprehend things like quality of a line, or even want or need to. The BS “up to” figures where typically only the top 10% get anywhere near the max speed have existed too long, good riddance to them.