March 14, 2011
Knowing if your broadband provider will slow down their network speeds at certain times of the day with “traffic management” should be allot clearer from now on as the main UK broadband providers have signed up to a new best practice code to make this side of broadband far clearer.
Traffic management is used by broadband providers to limit the speed that some applications or users are able to use their broadband connection at. Sites such as video streaming or file sharing or even those who play online games via PS3 or Xbox may be affected currently by traffic management and not know how, when or why. This new code that the broadband providers are signing up to should help make this clearer in the form of Key Facts Indicator tables that will list what the traffic management is with the broadband provider.
BSkyB, BT, O2, TalkTalk, Three, Virgin Media and Vodafone are signing a voluntary traffic management transparency code that will give users more easily comparable information on traffic management. These 7 broadband providers account for 90% of fixed line broadband connections and 60% of mobile customers in the UK.
The new transparency code has 3 commitments for the broadband providers, they are;
- Firstly to provide more information to consumers about what traffic management takes place, for what purpose and with what impact.
- Secondly to comply with a set of good practice principles on providing information to consumer that is: understandable; appropriate; accessible; current; comparable; and verifiable.
- Thirdly to publish a common Key Facts Indicator (KFI) table, summarising the traffic management practices they use for each broadband product they currently market, which will be available on ISPs’ websites by end of June 2011. Interested customers will be able to access this information directly, however third parties, such as price comparison websites will be encouraged to communicate this comparable information to consumers in an easily accessible way.
This is good for consumers as it is designed to make the traffic management information as clear and simple and in lay-mans terms so it should be free from jargon, it will also be made easily accessible and shouldn’t be hidden away where it would be hard for consumers to find.
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March 9, 2011
BT Broadband are getting rid of the Fair Use policy it has in place for it’s ADSL and fibre broadband packages and making their unlimited broadband truly unlimited.
 This is a welcome move to help customers understand more clearly what they are signing up for with a broadband package. So often we have seen broadband deals advertised as offering “Unlimited broadband” yet in the terms & conditions there is a “Fair Use policy” tucked away which gives broadband providers the freedom to stop the broadband service or restrict it to the users who they consider are extremely high usage.
BT Infinity Option 2 fibre broadband and also BT Total Broadband Option 3 on ADSL will now be able to use as much data as they require with the data caps being lifted on these unlimited broadband packages from BT. Previously the “Unlimited download” packages that were on offer had basically 300GB per month (more than enough for the majority of users) of downloads and then their broadband connection would have speed restrictions put in place.
Only around 0.5% of BT Broadband users were effected by the 300GB fair use limit that was in place but regardless of this many felt slightly confused and mis-sold that an unlimited broadband package did actually have limits in place.
Despite the lifting of the Fair Use policy BT have said that “traffic management” will still be in place when the network is busy, this will be for applications such as P2P file sharing which can be quite intensive on the network especially at peak times of the day.
BT Total Broadband Options 1 & 2 and also BT Infinity Option 1 do still have data limits in place, instead of users getting a restricted service or being cut off they will be charged instead £5 per 5GB extra used.
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January 25, 2011
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) look set to crack down on misleading advertising claims by broadband providers about broadband speeds and “unlimited” use.
Advertised broadband speeds are often extremely mis-leading with the advertised speed usually far greater than the actual broadband speed consumers receive. The advertised “up to” speed is the maximum broadband speed which is what it is when it leaves the telephone exchange. Factors such as the quality of the line and the more importantly the distance away from the telephone exchange that the premises is all affect the speed of the broadband received and can leave customers feeling like they are not getting what they are paying for.
The advertising of “Unlimited broadband” is another big factor with advertising broadband packages, many adverts claim to offer “Unlimited broadband” yet they have a Fair Use Policy in place that tends to either stipulate some maximum limits or is pretty vague so that the broadband provider can cut off those customers who they consider are heavy users and using too much bandwidth each month. A customer who signed up to an unlimited broadband deal would argue that they are well within their rights to use as much or as little bandwidth as they want and this is one of the confusing factors which needs to be cleared up.
Because the ASA are unable to set a policy they also had the British Code of Advertising Practice (BCAP) and the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) to also look into the issues surrounding broadband speeds and unlimited broadband advertising.
A final review is to take place to decide the outcome of these issues, it is very likely that we will see the advertising of broadband packages to change though.
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January 21, 2011
Ofcom, the UK communications regulator has told BT to reduce the cost it charges rivals for wholesale broadband by between 10.75% and 14.75% to help reduce the cost of rural broadband.
 The reason Ofcom want the wholesale price for BTs services to be reduced is help increase the competition between ISPs. Ofcom will detail specific areas of the country where BT are the sole provider and make these the areas where the wholesale prices are reduced to entice other ISPs to look at offering a service there themselves. It is envisaged that around 12% of households in the UK (3 million homes and businesses) could benefit from this which would help offer more competition and lower prices to these areas. It is hoped that other ISPs would look to offer their own services via BTs network via LLU (Local Loop Unbundling).
It is mainly rural areas that will benefit form this, especially in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as well as the South West of England, Norfolk, Yorkshire, Cumbria, Northumberland and other areas.
The new charge controls are due to come into effect during 2011 and it is estimated that it could reduce BTs profits by tens of millions of pounds each year.
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December 24, 2010
One in six home broadband connections will be being used on Christmas Day to allow people to do work at home according to research done by Demon Internet.
On top of this, it is expected that around 10 hours of annual leave over the Christmas period will be used by workers to work form home in some capacity. There was even 4% who envisaged to be working for more than the average 8 hour working day despite the fact they should be away from work and on holiday.
Matt Cantwell, the Head of Demon said:
“We’ve identified a growing trend for Brits to work from home even at the unlikeliest of times. As a nation we’re no longer restricted by set working hours and are often the most productive when working whenever and wherever suits us best.
“It’s also clear that we’re increasingly dependent on technology to support our preference for flexible working.
“With tube strikes, winter illness and the ongoing snow chaos, remote working is no longer a ‘nice to have’, but a necessity. We can see from our research that new technologies, such as smartphones and faster internet connections, are allowing more people to work from home when they need to, helping them to manage their work/life balance.
“Whilst these technologies can mean we’re constantly connected they also give us the much needed flexibility to keep on top of our work without having to disrupt family life by leaving for the office.”
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December 1, 2010
A global broadband value ranking sees the UK ranked in 24th spot for broadband value according to a recent study done by Point Topic.
The study looked at the price different countries pay per Mb for their broadband. Topping the list for the best value broadband was Hong Kong where it worked out that it cost just $0.028 per MB. In the UK the cost for broadband on average works out at $0.912 per Mb (58p) and ranks us in 24th position.
The top 10 countries in best value order were:
- Hong Kong
- Japan
- Romania
- Sweden
- Latvia
- China
- Singapore
- Russia
- Germany
- Finland
At the other end of the scale was Peru where it worked out at $209 (£134) per Mb with other countries who were very expensive including South Africa, Kenya and Indonesia where it cost over $100 per Mb for broadband.
Out of the top 10 value broadband tariffs there was 9 which which were either pure fibre or contained fibre as a major part of the connection.
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October 15, 2010
Broadband reliability is more important than broadband speed according to results from a YouGov survey done for Sky broadband (www.sky.com).
The study found that 44% of those that replied said that they “don’t know” or “don’t care” how fast their broadband speed is providing that it is reliable and works while 30% said that the stability of their broadband connection (slow at peak hours, faster off-peak) was a frustration to them.
Just 14% said that they would pay more for faster broadband speeds but these results would probably read the opposite way around if it was done in some remote and rural areas that only get very slow broadband connections currently.
Interestingly when choosing a broadband provider 39% said that value for money was the most important thing yet once connected to the broadband provider the value for money drops to just 19% while the reliability of it becomes more important at 36%.
The murky subject of “Unlimited” deals still showed that customers are not happy with being mis-sold this aspect of the broadband deal. With around half of those questioned not knowing if they had any restrictions and if so what they were on their broadband package yet 64% thought that “Unlimited” broadband packages should be just that and not have any usage restriction in place on them.
Delia Bushell, Sky’s Director or Broadband and Telephony said:
“Consumers are getting more from their broadband than ever. It is all too easy to forget about the way broadband has transformed our lives and, as the research shows, it has made our lives easier, cheaper and more fulfilling. Broadband is no longer a “nice-to-have” – it’s a vital part of modern day life.
When deciding on which broadband service to choose, consumers are making decisions based on a wide range of factors. What this research has done is to cut through the noise around broadband speeds and listen to what the majority of broadband users say about what matters to them.
In short, people want broadband that works, transparency over what they are getting, and a price that suits their pocket.“
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October 11, 2010
UK broadband customers prefer shorter broadband contracts according to results from a recent survey.
The survey done by ISPreview.co.uk had 536 respondents and it found that 50% of those were on no contract or just 1 month contracts with their current broadband provider.
28.3% were on 12 month contracts with only 9.7% on the longer 18 month contracts and a tiny 3.5% on 2 year+ (24 months+) contracts.
When asked about changing broadband provider once their current contacts end the majority don’t plan to with 42.9% saying they will stay with who they are with. 30.2% said they would look to change and a further 26.8% didn’t know if they would or not.
Switching broadband provider can often be a way to get a better deal, although with many broadband bundles on offer now usually this means getting tied into a contract. The benefit of taking a bundle of services such as broadband, phone and TV is the extra money than can be saved.
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September 15, 2010
The UK now has more than 7 million unbundled lines where rival companies offer their services over BT’s network.
In 2005 this figure stood at just 123,000 unbundled lined in the UK when BT and Ofcom came to an agreement that would see BT set up a new division called BT Openreach that would be used to allow competitors access to BT’s network and take control of the line to customers homes to offer their own services.
Now the UK has over 19 million broadband lines and more than 70% of these are provided by other companies than BT which includes over 30 companies who are offering broadband services which are unbundled. With so much competition out there the result has meant that broadband connections have gone up and the price of broadband has come down.
The study by Ofcom found that in the last quarter of 2005 the average price excluding VAT that customers were paying for broadband was £23.30 per month with the same service today costing just £13.31 meaning quite a substantial saving.
Companies who make use of the LLU (Local Loop Unbundling) and use BT’s copper network include companies such as Sky & TalkTalk.
BT are currently investing £2.5 billion in their new fibre broadband (BT Infinity) that will be able to deliver broadband speeds up to 40Mb.
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September 13, 2010
Ofcom are looking to change the process for switching broadband providers to make it easier and more hassle free for consumers.
Ofcoms research found that 45% of consumers with a broadband or landline think that switching their broadband or telephone provider is too much hassle. Of those people who have switched broadband provider by using the Migration Authority Code (MAC), 39% of them felt that it was too much hassle when going the change.
22% of those who switched broadband providers by using the Notification of Transfer process felt that this was too much hassle.
What Ofcom are proposing is that the broadband or communications provider who will be gaining the new customer should take the lead role in switching would give better results for customers as it would be in the interest of the gaining provider to get the switch done as quickly and smoothly as possible, however there would need to be measures in place to stop “slamming” occurring, which is where customers get switched with out their consent.
Other factors which make it an even more complex process now is that half of consumers have more than one service in a bundle with one provider.
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