Ofcom has today published the results of speed tests across Britians broadband suppliers that reveals that all broadband suppliers fall short against advertised speeds, where typical speeds tend to average at LESS than half that advertised. However real consumer speeds tend to fall further far short as Ofcom's speed test ignored the impact of wireless home networks run off of broad supplier routers, which can result in a further degradation of service.

For instance our own connection is advertised at up 10mb download speed, however the operative word is 'upto' as actual download speeds are as in our experience near 1/10th that which Sky broadband purports to deliver.

Whilst sky broad band may argue that the speeds vary between the countryside and the city, however our speed test is from near the centre of Sheffield.

Sky also recently announced that they will be cutting the monthly download gigabyte limit by 75% for its mid-service customers thus forcing customers to upgrade to the next level service for typically a 100% increase in the monthly fee charged.

Other monthly charges sneaked in by Sky include a monthly 50p charge for paying by credit card and a more advertised 100% hike in the monthly fee if broadband users do not also subscribe to the Sky Talk service. Therefore the advertised mid-range service instead of costing £5 per month as advertised for sky satellite customers typically costs £10.50 per month.

What this means is that for many people the more recent mobile network internet services offer a far more flexible service where most users will not experience any real loss in access speeds against the hype of the fixed line broad band suppliers such as Sky and likely at a lower monthly cost.

By Nadeem Walayat
http://www.marketoracle.co.uk

Nadeem Walayat has over 20 years experience of trading derivatives, portfolio management and analysing the financial markets, including one of few who both anticipated and Beat the 1987 Crash. Nadeem's forward looking analysis specialises on the housing market and interest rates. Nadeem is the Editor of The Market Oracle, a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication. We present in-depth analysis from over 250 experienced analysts on a range of views of the probable direction of the financial markets. Thus enabling our readers to arrive at an informed opinion on future market direction. http://www.marketoracle.co.uk

Disclaimer: The above is a matter of opinion provided for general information purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Information and analysis above are derived from sources and utilising methods believed to be reliable, but we cannot accept responsibility for any trading losses you may incur as a result of this analysis. Individuals should consult with their personal financial advisors before engaging in any trading activities.

Nadeem Walayat Archive

Comments

Michael Maguire
30 Jul 09, 20:17

sky broadband

sky broadband is a joke, I have 4 messages in my outbox which I have spent the last hour to send, average message size 10KB, no attachments, just text.

what a waste of money!!!!!

I can get better capacity from my vodaphone v rack card on 3G or GPRS

MickM

Psilas
24 Oct 09, 21:31

SKY BAD service as always

I got rid of SKY years ago after finding out they were over charging me EVERY month.

My parents now have a SKY package and the Broadband is VERY poor.

It cuts out regularly, up to 12-15 times over about 7-8 hour period. BT broadband was a lot better than SKY but, BT charge WAY too much.

I would not recommend SKY at all but to shop around and read all the reviews.

SKY are notorious con merchants.

jason
27 Aug 10, 11:30

very very bad download speeds

advertised speed of 20mb, speed test revealed 300 kbps - joke.

Only logged in users are allowed to post comments. Register/ Log in

The Market Oracle is a FREE Financial Markets Forecasting & Analysis web-site.
(c) 2005-2024 MarketOracle.co.uk (Market Oracle Ltd) - Market Oracle Ltd asserts copyright on all articles authored by our editorial team and all comments posted. Any and all information provided within the web-site, is for general information purposes only and Market Oracle Ltd do not warrant the accuracy, timeliness or suitability of any information provided on this site. nor is or shall be deemed to constitute, financial or any other advice or recommendation by us. and are also not meant to be investment advice or solicitation or recommendation to establish market positions. We do not give investment advice and our comments are an expression of opinion only and should not be construed in any manner whatsoever as recommendations to enter into a market position either stock, option, futures contract, bonds, commodity or any other financial instrument at any time. We recommend that independent professional advice is obtained before you make any investment or trading decisions. By using this site you agree to this sites Terms of Use. From time to time we promote or endorse certain products / services that we believe are worthy of your time and attention. In return for that endorsement and only in the cases where you purchase directly though us may we be compensated by the producers of those products.