Virgin Media starts campaign against broadband speed con

It's been a long time coming, but Virgin Media has thrown its weight behind calls for an end to the misleading advertising of broadband speeds.

The cable company's fibre optic network always meant it had an infrastructure that was the least affected by a difference between advertised top speeds and actual averages, something that it has pointed out for years.

But the company has now set up a campaign to end the dreadful practice of selling broadband to consumers with "Up to…" messaging that falls well short of real life speeds.

stopthebroadbandcon.org

The www.stopthebroadbandcon.org website has been set up, and Virgin Media is asking for people to sign up and make their feelings known.

Jon James, executive director of broadband, Virgin Media said: "People are paying for superfast broadband but receiving a service stuck in the slow lane.

"Broadband providers need to stop advertising speeds that not a single customer can receive and we're asking people to support our call for change by signing up to stopthebroadbandcon.org.

"Faster broadband means better broadband, whether you're surfing the web, watching TV online or downloading music and UK consumers deserve superfast broadband they can trust, rather than having to rely on the fairytales and broken promises of current broadband advertising."

Review

The ASA has already asked for a review of the practice, and Ofcom's average speed figures show just how serious the problem is, with average speeds often less than a third of the advertised 'up to' speed.

Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group, is supporting the campaign and added: "Staying connected is central to our lives and we all deserve broadband we can trust.

"I'm challenging all broadband providers to be honest with their customers and ask people to add their voice to the campaign by signing up to Stopthebroadbandcon.org."

TechRadar has long been an opponent of the 'Up to..' advertising, and the more big names that back an end to a misleading (and plain wrong) approach to selling broadband the better the chance of transparency and honesty on our broadband speeds.