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ISP AAISP UK Slams Opponents of UP TO Broadband Speeds

Posted: 13th Jul, 2011 By: MarkJ
uk up to broadband speed banuk aaisp broadband ispThe often outspoken boss of internet provider Andrews & Arnold ( AAISP ), Adrian Kennard, has today weighed into the increasingly murky debate over whether or not ISPs should stop using the "up to" expression in their broadband speed advertising. Kennard believes that the concept is actually very easy to understand and questions why some consumers and organisations want it banned.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is currently in the process of developing new guidelines to foster clearer broadband ISP advertising (here), which is particularly focused on the long running issue of "up to" speeds. One of the options on the table could see the phrase being almost completely banned, which has gained support from both the Gadget Show (Five, TV) and the Communications Consumer Panel (CCP).

Communications Consumer Panel Statement (February 2011)

"The Panel wants CAP and BCAP to choose a better, typical speed descriptor which does not use the "up to" descriptor at all and which is presented to consumers in a clear and meaningful way. It should be short and simple, using a single speed and indicate that the speed achieved is not the same for all."

Certainly there's some merit to using Typical Speeds to help clarify an ISPs real performance capability, although getting the balance right would be very difficult and removing "up to" altogether won't work if it ends up being replaced by something that is equally or even more confusing. But just how misleading is "up to"?

The Director of AAISP UK, Adrian Kennard, said:

"Why the public seem not to understand this simple term is beyond me, but it seems to be the case.

The technology for DSL allows speeds that adapt to the line conditions and so you will get a speed depending on line length and quality. The technology itself has different types, so ADSL1 could get up to 8128Kb/s sync which 7.15Mb/s IP rate roughly when allowing for various overheads in the protocols. ADSL2+ gets you up to around 20 to 21Mb/s IP rate at maximum sync possible. FTTC is higher still.

So, obviously, ISPs advertised services as "up to 20Mb/s". The full rate is possible, but you have to be pretty close to the exchange. Typically people get lower rates.

The problem is that for some reason people felt cheated if their line only gets 6Mb/s, for example. Some how people read "up to 20Mb/s" as "at least 20Mb/s" when it means the opposite. In fact if I bought an "up to 20Mb/s" service and got 21Mb/s then that would be false advertising!

So OFCOM have started asking ISPs not to say "up to 20Mb/s". You will note the A&A site says things like "sync rates of not more than 24Mb/s" for ADSL2+. I.e. saying "not more than" instead of "up to", even though clearly the same meaning. Also, as our pricing is not based on speed this is buried in the detail of the specific service and we have a page explaining overheads and so on.

Of course, like all ISPs, if you put a postcode or line number on the web site we tell you a fairly realistic estimate of speeds based on BT line checker data. OFCOMs code of practice is however totally crazy as I think I have ranted before.

What I just spotted today was a TV advert for broadband from our favourite telco. They have been just as sneaky by saying "we give you a personalised speed estimate, up to 20meg". So they are still saying "up to 20Mb/s" just saying that the personalised speed estimate will tell you a speed up to 20Mb/s not that the line will go up to 20Mb/s.

If the public felt misled before I cannot see how this subtle change really makes any difference, and I have to wonder how much time and effort (i.e. taxpayer's money) went on this."

In fairness we've never had any real problems with the "up to" phrase itself, it's a simple concept and is often only truly misleading when an ISP fails to provide customers with a viable estimate of their actual line speed during signup.

On the other hand not everybody is able to get such a "reliable" estimate during signup, such as when moving into a new-build home (i.e. one that is not on the database). In other situations the ISP may impose Traffic Management measures or suffer from congestion, especially at peak teams, which can make related estimates considerably less reliable.

The ASA now has the unenviable task of finding its way through this minefield of differing opinions, positions and technical realities. Several potential solutions have been proposed and everybody seems to have their favourite. A ruling is expected sometime this summer.

As a side note, not a single ISP ever seems to offer an estimate for upload speeds, which in the modern world of social networking has become much more important.
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