[Chapter-delegates] Enforcing access "speed" on ISPs

[Joly MacFie]

There's been some recent activity on this front in the UK.

In July 2010 they introduced a voluntary code of practice for ISPs
http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/telecoms/codes-of-practice/broadband-speeds-cop/voluntary-codes-of-practice/

An Ofcom report - a snapshot of Nov/Dec 2010 - published on Mar 2 indicated
that actual speeds on ADSL are much lower than those advertised, while cable
connections are around 95%.
http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/market-data-research/telecoms-research/broadband-speeds/speeds-nov-dec-2010/

The report concludes:

1.23 In addition to the protection offered to consumers by the Code, it is
> our view that when speeds are used in broadband advertising they should
> reflect the actual speeds that consumers receive. It is our view that a
> change in the rules around advertising is necessary in order to better
> promote speed-based competition between providers and ensure that consumers
> can effectively compare the services available to them.
>


> 1.24 The Advertising Standards Authority (the ASA) has responsibility for
> broadband advertising and in May 2010 it asked the Committee for Advertising
> Practice (CAP) and Broadcast Committee for Advertising Practice (BCAP) to
> conduct a separate review of the advice provided to ISPs on advertising
> practices. We have contributed to this review, which includes a public
> consultation into the use of speed claims in advertising. This consultation
> closed on 25 February 2011, and we have published our response to the
> consultation alongside this research report. In summary, we make the
> following recommendations:



>
>    - that if speed is used in advertising it must include a 'Typical Speed
>    Range' (TSR), which should be based on average actual speeds that the 25th
>    to 75th percentile of customers receive (i.e. the inter-quartile range);
>
>
>    - that this TSR must have at least equal prominence to any 'up to'
>    claims made;
>
>
>    - that if an 'up to' speed is used it must represent the actual speed
>    that a materially significant proportion of customers are capable of
>    receiving; and
>
>
>    - that any TSR or 'up to' speed used must be based on statistically
>    robust analysis of connection data, with the data and methodology available
>    for scrutiny.
>
>
<http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/market-data-research/telecoms-research/broadband-speeds/speeds-nov-dec-2010/>

On Sun, Mar 6, 2011 at 6:45 PM, Marcin Cieslak <saper at saper.info> wrote:

> Hello,
>
> Polish Ministry of Infrastructure (which is sometimes dealing
> with telecommunications, independently of the telecom operator body)
> wants to implement some kind of tougher enforcement of the connection
> parameters of the Internet connection offered
> by the ISP.
>
> They plan to introduce a rule that the "minimal connection speed
> should not be lower than 90% of the contractual or advertized
> connection speed".
>
> This poses numerous problems, including things like, definition
> of "connection speed", from where to where it is measured,
> ignoring isses like latency or etc.
>
> On the other hand there is a general opinion that mobile
> operators usually overstate capabilities of their
> networks (HSDPA access "up to 7.2Mbit/s" and so on).
>
> There was one opinion expressed, that "similar scheme
> works in Finland".
>
> Does anyone know any attempts to regulate access speeds
> this way in Finland or somewhere else, what kind of metrics
> do they build on, and how does this look in practice?
>
> //Marcin
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>



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