The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) will this week deliver its verdict on the way broadband speeds are advertised.
Last June, the ASA asked Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) and the British Code of Advertising Practice (BCAP) to review broadband speeds, and the use of “up to” speeds in particular.
The committees have now concluded their six-month investigation and will deliver their findings later this week.
However, we’re still some way from anything close to decisive action on the issue. The ASA will use the findings as the basis for an industry consultation that will take “around a month” to complete, according to a spokesman for the ASA.
Watchdogs appear to have finally lost patience with ISPs advertising “up to” speeds that bear little or no relation to the actual speeds received by customers.
Last summer, Ofcom chief Ed Richards called for a ban on unachievable “up to” speeds, adding that ISPs should include a “typical speed range” in their adverts. Ofcom’s own research showed that customers typically receive less than half the headline speed.
The ASA said it was “committed to ensuring that broadband speed claims in ads do not mislead consumers” in response to Richards’ comments.
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