David Mackintosh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-04-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 9 March 2016 to Question 30395, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that (a) consumers are aware of the broadband speeds available to them and (b) internet service providers are transparent with consumers about the best speeds available.

Mr Edward Vaizey

Ofcom’s Broadband speeds Code of Practice requires that Internet Service Providers provide consumers with clear, accurate information on broadband speeds, including the maximum speeds they can achieve, the estimated speed on their line, and factors that may slow down the speed, such as any fair use or traffic management policies.

In addition, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) provides rules on how headline broadband speed claims are presented to consumers, including requiring the use of the qualification ‘up to’ when presenting the headline broadband speed, and that the maximum stated speed must be achieved by at least 10% of the relevant customer base.