Lee Sexton, a disgruntled broadband consumer, has launched a new online petition aimed at encouraging the government to investigate ISP's that oversubscribe on their networks and throttle bandwidth:


Typically the petition, which has so far managed to gain 1,796 signatures, may understandably resonate with some consumers. However, these problems are usually caused when people signup to the cheapest services, which frequently claim to offer everything but the kitchen sink for a pittance.

The reality is that you get what you pay for and some major ISP’s, such as TalkTalk's "free" broadband bundle, are perhaps encouraging expectations of a wonderful service at unrealistically low pricing levels. The fault here is usually more in the promotion and marketing department, with too many consumers being mislead to believe that a quality service can be had for nearly nothing.

Thankfully Ofcom, working with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), has now agreed to investigate the problem of advertised broadband speeds versus actual performance. The new proposals, coupled to a consultation period, should surface sometime during the first quarter of this year, we hope.