Ofcom has this morning announced the long awaited introduction of its new VOLUNTARY broadband speed Code of Practice (CoP), which is designed to ensure that UK ISPs offer greater clarity over what customers' can truly expect to receive from their service.

The regulator is concerned that consumers could be misled or misinformed when choosing their broadband services by ISPs advertising headline speeds that are higher than users can receive in practice. Though to be fair, it took a significant amount of consumer campaigning and pressure before they finally took notice of the issue.

Roughly 32 ISPs (listed further down), including most of the major providers (90% of the market), have agreed to honour the new code, which demands the following:


The key aspects above are merely basic summary bullet points and don't cover the full details, which can be read HERE. ISPs have been given six months to implement the code after signup and Ofcom will consider formal regulation if it proves ineffective. Those signed up so far are as follows:


Ofcom will monitor compliance, including through mystery shopping exercises, to determine if ISPs are meeting both the letter and spirit of the Code. The regulator is also considering whether or not to extend the code to 'Mobile Broadband' services, which could be risky given the markets infancy.


To some the new code lacks teeth and we wouldn't be surprised if the rules aren't precisely adhered to by all of its members, although it is indeed a first and necessary step in the right direction. The regulator now hopes to conduct a programme of independent research to identify the actual performance of broadband for consumers, results of which will surface sometime during H2-2008.