UK broadband companies banned from advertising misleading top speeds

The advertising of broadband services has long been fraught with complaints and controversy, but a new rule change should help to bring this to an end.

Following an investigation by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), ISPs will no longer be able to advertise high "up to" speeds. Instead they will have to advertise the average speed achieved by at least 50 percent of customers at peak times. Previously, the rules permitted the advertising of headline speeds enjoyed by just 10 percent of people, and the ASA found that many broadband customers were disappointed with their connection speed.

The change came about after the ASA's findings were passed on to the Committees of Advertising Practice (Cap). The organization then consulted with communications regulator Ofcom, ISPs and consumer groups. It was decided that having the requirement for advertising the average speed would be far more meaningful to customers.

The new approach has been heralded as a victory for consumers, and ISPs will also have to make another change to their advertising. Starting next year not only will the new average speed rules come into play, but ISPs will also have to clearly promote speed-checking services to allow people to better conduct comparisons.

Matt Hancock, the UK minister for digital, said:

I'm delighted to see that Cap is finally changing the way broadband speeds are advertised. Headline 'up to' speeds that only need to be available to 10 percent of consumers are incredibly misleading -- customers need clear, concise and accurate information in order to make an informed choice.

The new rules come into force on May 23, 2018.

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