Ofcom says average UK broadband 3.6Mbps

9 January 2009 9:37 GMT / By Amy-Mae Elliott

Consumers only receive 45% of the advertised speeds of their broadband service, an Ofcom report has revealed.

The average speed of a broadband connection in the UK is 3.6Mbps the regulator has revealed as results of the "most sophisticated" speed test ever done have been published.

Ofcom says the average speed is still "significantly" below what's promised by ISPs.

This follows new rules from Ofcom introduced last year that saw ISPs providing consumers with accurate estimates of what speeds they could expect.

Speeds in the evening are less, as are those in rural areas, the report showed.

Ofcom chief executive Ed Richards said: "We want to see all internet service providers meet the needs of their customers by clearly explaining what speeds they should expect and by ensuring that their networks meet consumers' increasing demand for higher speed broadband", he said.

Full tags

Software, Broadband, Ofcom, Statistics, Biz