Over half of UK broadband users unhappy with speed

Only 52% of UK broadband users are happy with the speed of their service, according to research by online price comparison website uswitch.com.

The standard advertised speed for broadband in the UK is 8Mbps but the actual speed received is just 4.2Mbps. Only 3% of users who sign up for 8Mbps services receive that speed. The survey found that 45%, or 6.75 million, of broadband users would like their service to be faster.

Fifteen million households are currently connected to broadband, with consumers spending £2.6bn (€3bn) a year on broadband services. However, 15% of the UK is technically unable to access speeds of more than 2Mbps, the minimum speed the UK government wants all homes to be able to receive by 2012 under its Digital Britain proposals.