Broadband Internet should be at least 10 Mbps
Broadband is a convoluted term, but market research firm Ovum wants to bring some restrictions, claiming 10Mbps should be the minimum download speed to use the term.
Market performance and surveys suggest that 10Mbps is the lowest speed customers will accept from their broadband provider. Anything lower, and it is unusable on today’s Internet, which needs broadband for high-quality video streaming and video gaming.
Three second loading speeds, stable connection and excellent tech support are also factors in customer’s decisions on broadband providers. Internet speed trumps all however, with a big reliance on having speeds over 50Mbps in new homes.
The Ovum speed rank would meet with the UK’s average broadband speed, currently at between 11 and 23Mbps depending on the source. Ofcom claims that the average broadband speed is 23Mbps, but other analysts claim it is much lower.
Even though this is the terminology for broadband right now, things will quickly move from 10Mbps to 50Mbps, according to several broadband analysts. With the rise in 4K video, always-on smart home equipment, and massive online video games, customers will need faster speeds, especially considering more people are going to be on the Internet at any one time.
Thankfully, those speeds already exist on most broadband providers. Sky, Talktalk, and BT all offer speeds up to 100Mbps, but Virgin Media has gone beyond what the other three offer with its 152Mbps package.
The UK was ranked in eighth place by Ovum, tied with the US and Russia on customer experience. Sweden was ranked first and all of the Nordic countries came in the top 10, showing the superior Internet service available in those countries.
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