Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Broadband Users want to go faster

Sunday 13 July 2008 00:00 BST
Comments

Just over a quarter of all UK broadband customers are dissatisfied with the service offered by their provider, according to a survey from price- comparison site uSwitch.com.

In particular, customers are unhappy with their broadband connection speed, which they believe is often far slower than advertised.

USwitch found that many consumers who agreed to an "up to" 8MB broadband package were in fact only receiving 4MB.

USwitch puts the blame for consumers being short-changed on the UK's broadband infrastructure. Many homes receive their service through a DSL connection, which relies on copper wire as a means of signal transfer.

Unfortunately, copper wire is not the best conductor available and this means that the further the user lives from the telephone exchange to which they are connected, the weaker the signal and the slower the internet link.

"Consumers have had enough of paying for services they do not receive. It's time for the Government to take hold of the reins and invest in upgrading the UK's broadband infrastructure," said Steve Weller from uSwitch.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in