The European Commission (EC) has today released the results of its latest Eurobarometer ('E-Communications Household Survey') study of 27,000 EU households, which discovered that 25% reported receiving slower broadband speeds than advertised by their ISP and one in three claimed to have suffered breakdowns with their internet connection.

Meanwhile 98% of EU households now have access to a telephone and an increasing proportion (89%) can also access a mobile phone. Some 62% have both a fixed and mobile phone service, while just 9% rely on a fixed line alone.


New EU rules, which came into effect on 25th May 2011 (full details), require ISPs and phone operators to give customers comprehensive and accurate information in advance - before they sign-up to a contract - on minimum service quality levels (i.e. actual connection speeds and possible service limits).

The rules also aim to improve migration between providers and to ban excessively long 24 Month+ contracts. Ofcom has already adjusted its own rules (here) to meet the new EU framework. Both Ofcom and the EC are now actively monitoring Communication Providers (CP) for compliance.

The study also found that 42% (up from 38% last year) take their broadband, tv and phone service from a single provider (i.e. bundled). On the whole 33% felt that bundles were cheaper than paying for each service separately, yet 16% warned that they often included some services that weren't needed or used. Just 10% were worried about the lack of transparency and clarity in relation to bundled service Terms and Conditions (T&C's).

The EC is also busy undertaking a "rigorous fact-finding" mission, which seeks to better understand the barriers to migration between different operators and to examine the controversial issue of blocking or "throttling" specific internet traffic (i.e. Net Neutrality). A report is expected by the end of 2011.

E-Communications Household Survey 2011 (PDF)
http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_362_sum_en.pdf