For the last few weeks Channel Five’s Gadget Show have been running a campaign for broadband suppliers to be honest with the public about the broadband speeds we can realistically expect. The point of contention is the term “upto” as in “upto 8MB”. This leaves the broadband suppliers with a massive loophole to take advantage of as “upto” could mean anything from the advertised speed down to Zero!

The Gadget Show web-site features a speed test to gauge what speed your broadband is at the time of the test. There’s also a form you can fill out with the recorded speed to help the Gadget Show collect enough information to take to the broadband suppliers.

So, using the speed test feature, I’ve just tested my broadband speed, which should be close to the 16MB I’m paying for. They recommend that you take the test a few times:

1. Dec 6th 2:30pm: 2.6MB
2. Dec 7th 8:37am: 2.8MB
3. Dec 7th 9:00am: 2.8MB
4. Dec 7th 2:00pm: 2.6MB

I think it’s safe to say that my broadband speed will never come close to the “upto 16MB” I’m currently paying for! Time to downgrade methinks!

Check out your broadband speed here and join the campaign if yours isn’t what you’re paying for.

This entry was posted on Friday, December 7th, 2007 at 3:02 pm and is filed under Life & living, Tech, Useful Web Sites. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.