ISPs to be named and shamed

Market research firm YouGov and broadband measurement company Epitiro are working together to assess the state of broadband in the UK, and this could result in ISPs that do not provide advertised speeds being named and shamed.

A great deal of controversy has arisen over the past year or two with regards to Internet providers advertising impressive broadband speeds to attract customers, when in fact the vast majority of the customers do not come anywhere near to achieving these speeds, which many have said is hugely misleading.

One of those that has been slating the fact that many ISPs are misleading consumers in this way is Virgin Media, which has now set up a website so that consumers can test their broadband speeds and can also voice their opinion over the way in which many ISPs are misleading people by advertising impressive headline speeds that will never be reached by most customers.

It has now been revealed that the market research firm YouGov and broadband measurement company Epitiro are working together to assess the state of broadband in the UK. This could result in Internet service providers that are misleading consumers with their broadband speed claims being named and shamed. The study will aim to build a picture of how happy consumers in the UK are with their broadband internet service. The project will test speeds that consumers get when engaging in activities such as gaming or streaming content, which are activities that require better speeds.

Marek Vaygelt, head of consumer, technology and telecoms consulting at YouGov, said: “As consumers become more tech-savvy and willing to [switch to another provider], ISPs need to manage satisfaction and network performance.”

Do you feel your ISP has misled you in terms of speed? Let us know by leaving a comment

*update: please see commment below correcting an inaccuracy in this article

Source – V3