A few months ago, I’d written about being left in the broadband slowlane in London / UK (click here to read this post).
At long last, there seems to be a way out of being left there!
In his STARLETTER award winning letter in the 3-16 Jan 2008 issue of the Webuser magazine, Mike Fairclough of Cheshire provides a useful website where potential ADSL broadband buyers can actually check the maximum broadband speed possible for their telephone number. If this website says the maximum speed possible is 2Mbps, buyers can avoid ordering packages touting higher speeds because they are unlikely to work at more than 2Mbps. As most readers would be aware, ADSL broadband speeds depend very much on the telephone line.
I visited this website and found out that for my telephone number (POPLAR exchange) the maximum possible line rate is 2Mbps.
From a popular broadband speed testing website like www.speedtest.net, I can confirm that my broadband connection is indeed working faster than 2Mbps.
In asking buyers to take responsibility to do some research before deciding what kind of broadband package to buy, Mike Fairclough is emphasizing the principle of caveat emptor (“buyer beware” in Latin).
Caveat Emptor is surely a useful principle.
At the same time, I can’t help noting that, if broadband sellers were truly as customer-oriented as they claim to be, they could use these same websites themselves first to figure out the maximum line rates that would be possible at their potential customers’ telephone lines and then ensure that they refrain from selling costlier packages for higher speeds.
That aside, it’s very heartening to know that broadband buyers now have the tools to help them decide upfront what kind of broadband package they should be buying. They no longer have to pay more for a higher speed package and eventually find out that they are left in the broadband slowlane.