Study: Most Broadband Subs Don’t Know Their Speed

When it comes to broadband, speed is the name of the game.

Or is it? It also turns out that a majority of high-speed Internet subs don’t even know what they’re paying for.

About two-thirds (69%) of consumers have no idea of what the advertised speed of their broadband package is supposed to be, Cable.co.uk found in a survey of 2,500 broadband customers. 

Cable.co.uk noted that more than half of consumers surveyed (56%) had never checked the speed of their Internet connection.  

“The findings of this study point to a giant, cavernous hole in consumer awareness,” Cable.co.uk’s Dan Howdle said in a statement. “With the proliferation of broadband to the majority of homes over the last decade, it would be easy to assume that the knowledge necessary for people to understand what it is they’re getting has proliferated with it.”

Howdle said the onus should be on the provider to ensure customers are getting the speed they’re paying for and informing them when they’re not.

“Ultimately, it’s pretty unreasonable to expect the average consumer to analyse the quality of their broadband,” he added.

Cable.co.uk also used the study to tout its own online speed-checker.