By Will Sturgeon, 23 February 2004 17:35
NEWS Guests, revellers and prize-winners at last week's Internet Service Providers Association Awards may have been surprised to see the broadband categories include a number of nominees whose top speed offerings are lagging some way behind the competition.
Arguments rage on over what should be included within the broad definition of 'broadband', but silicon.com readers are in little doubt - until connection speeds hit 512Kbps it just doesn't count.
Almost 90 per cent of respondents to a silicon.com survey wouldn't even start to entertain the idea of something being broadband until it was at least 512Kbps, with 54.98 per cent stating that entry-level requirement was enough to warrant the definition.
However, 18.67 per cent said 'broadband' should refer to at least 1Mbps, while a demanding 8.3 per cent say 2Mbps should now be considered the minimum. A surprising 4.98 per cent even set the bar at a staggering 10Mbps - a level that few, if any, mainstream ISPs look set to reach any time soon.
This is bad news for ISP Tiscali in particular, as it has heavily marketed its 150Kbps offering as 'broadband'.
While it may legally be allowed to call this product broadband it appears to carry little sway with consumers who remain unconvinced that it is little more than a 'half-way house'.
NTL is another company which has been forced to defend a slower than average broadband offering. Its offering, like that of Tiscali, is in stark contrast to the 8Mbps offerings from Easynet and Bulldog.
It's perhaps understandable therefore that companies offering faster services are having to share working terminology with far slower offerings.
However, last year Alex Blowers, director of regulatory affairs at NTL, told complaining rivals that the onus is on them to 'dumb down' their own service.
"If you don't like the fact that we're taking customers away from you with our 150Kbps services, then you should start providing your own services at these speeds," he said.
The concern is that as the government tries to drive broadband take-up and encourage more Britons online, some may become disenchanted if they think they have been misled into signing up for a far slower package than their neighbours - even though both houses will technically have 'broadband'.
However, it's not an issue which troubles e-minister Stephen Timms, who last year said: "As long as it is clear what is being offered to consumers, I don't think it matters that the term broadband is being used to describe several different services."
Comments
There are 22 comments. Join the discussion
1. David Rayner
Hey come on 150k is still MUCH better than analogue modem, its faster & always on. I started on 150k with NTL, but am now on the slippery slope upwards. Important thing get people off those wretched 56k modems.
2. Dave
It is still false advertising. 1 Mbps is the worldwide LOWEST standard. Most countries will be offering IPTV in the next year over 15 Mbps broadband connections along with VoIP services. This company is only helping Britain lag behind the rest of the world in internet services with its false advertising. It is blatant and inexcusable. The other companies should be bashing it in advertising.
Dave
3. Tom Stevens
Come on, we've had Wide and Ultra-Wide for years inside the box !!! Surely someone can come up with a new Wideband product at 2Mpbs and Ultra-Wide at 8Mbps. I won't even claim a copyright on it !!!
4. Dave Howe
I thought DSL at less than 256 was termed "narrowband"?
5. R W
The word broadband refers to transmission technology, not speed. The opposite to broadband is baseband. There is no such thing as narrowband.
10Mbps, 100Mbps and even 1000Mbps ethernet connections are all NOT broadband, but still baseband.
If a service is delivered using ADSL, it doesn't matter what speed it is, it is broadband.
But consumers think that any high speed net access is broadband, in the same way that they think any make of vacuum cleaner is a Hoover.
6. Darren Ball
I agree with Dave Rayner, 150kbps is fine for general surfing and email use and is noticeably better than dial-up for just a few pounds more in some cases.
7. anonymous
Come on Tiscali!! Expansion is the way forward! Faster not slower!! 150Kbps is hardly even worth considering. My home network just will not work at anything less than 2Mbps and you're talking about Kbps?
You certainly won't have me as a customer!
8. Richard Sarson
Japanese Broadband equipment manufacturers have ruled out the UK market, because they don't make kit that runs as slow as 512kbs. So said Ewan Sutherland of INTUG at the CMA conference last week. 3Meg is about the minimum acceptable over there. The norm is 10Meg.
9. Simon
I'd like to add my 2d worth, there are MANY, MANY people for whom 150k is more than adequate - and a significant upgrade from slow, expensive, metered modem calls.
Just because some of use want huge bandwidths, don't force everyone else to pay for them. Just like some people are still happy with their Windows 95 running on a sub200MHz Pentium because it does what they need it to.
Or are we going to get snobbish about it ?
10. Adrian
Considering I'm only paying about £5/month extra on top of Tiscali's 150kbps charge for a 512kbps, I'm quite happy wiht what I've got. But for some people, the attraction of faster than dial-up speeds and free connection and modem is going to be effective I expect.
And actually, rather than 'wideband' or 'ultrawideband', why not sue something like Tiscali's naming system.
The 150kbps service is Broadband X3, its roughly 3 times the speed of dial up. the 25kbps is Broadband X5 and the 512 is Broadband X10.
If companies call their standard 512kbps pacakges Broadband X10, theres little confusion that you should expect more from a X10 sevrice than a X3.
As long as the speed is clearly stated, and people know what they are getting, I don't see a problem with it. The main issue is that Broadband has been marketted as a 512+ service. The comments here and the article itself show that most people don't really know what broadband means. To them it is just 'faster'.
I don't think its for other companies to bash in their advertising, I don't particularly like negative advertising about rivals, it sounds too much like politicians bitching at each other.
If a company says its service, running at 512, is going to be at least 10x faster than dial up (when we were on dialup, despite being on 56kbps, weonly ever really got 33, so moving to a good 512 line was more like a 20x speed increase), then there shouldn't be any problems.
11. anonymous
A friend of mine is on broadband but when I sat and watched him on-line on it I saw that he signed in exactly the same way I do AND it took just as long, if not longer, than when I sign on and I am not on broadband. As he surfed I could see no difference. Now there are arguments about what really is broadband. Tell you what, I have not been convinced it is worth goin broadband and paying loads of extra money!
12. anonymous
If you are always on-line with broadband how come you have to sign in. How come you are not already there! I think I will need some convincing that there is any benefit. All I can think is that if you are on-line all the time that gives hackers and trouble makers a golden opportunity to cause you grief. No-one has ever told me how broadband works, all they do is come out with the usual cliches.
13. Brian Buckman
Why does nobody appear to worry about contention ratio? For a lot of tasks I'd rather have a dedicated 64K ISDN B-Channel conection to a well specified POP, than a 1Mbps link that I'm sharing with 49 others all downloading MPEGS.
14. Andrew Lewis
There seems to be a little confusion. Broadband is an ADSL "always on" connection and nothing to do with speed. I personally have a 512K service with a 10:1 contention ratio aimed at business users. I get a genuine 512K download and am pleased with it.
Tiscali and NTL offer an interesting package with their 150K services. A similar price to dialup, a bit faster than dialup and most important of all no 2 hour disconnection time - ie you can download very large files without worrying whether you will time out.
I would have considered a 150K service to save a bit of money as ultra fast speed is not really an issue if Tiscali or NTL were any good. Personal experiences dealing with both have dictated that I recommend other ISP to clients and friends at increased cost and speed but without any hassles.
There is a market in the UK for a 150K broadband service.
Remember that brilliant as Ferraris are, you don't need one to do the shopping in when a Mini would suffice!
15. anonymous
One can never have too much bandwidth ;-) The use of broad has in any case to be a subjective matter.
I think personally Tiscali's offering is at least progressing towards improved always-on access for all. My mother has a lifeline phone (emergency help for elderly and disabled); it is unavailable when surfing on a "normal" landline (obviously) and the £30/month offerings for 512 were just not affordable. With the 3* offering she can be online and still press the emergency button for help if needed. A weight off my mind.... and hers.... access for all!
16. Russell Cannon
Some of us who are unlucky enough to be a couple of km too far from our ADSL enabled exchanges would be glad of any speed “broadband type” service. Even if I could get 64K “always-on” for a reasonable price it would be infinitely better than the unreliable dialup connection I have. It would be bliss if the e-mails could drop into my inbox as they are sent to me, rather than having to keep dialing up to see if there are any. For large downloads and patches, it wouldn’t matter if it took all night, at least I wouldn’t have to keep re-dialing and starting over because of dropped connections (not to mention watching the clock as the phone bill mounts up).
When are they going to come up with a compromise solution for people in the 6 – 10 km range of the exchange? “Mid-band” (or ISDN) doesn’t help, as that has the same range limitation. As a home business I can possibly get a 64K leased line (subject to survey), but the £3000 per year price tag puts it a little out of my reach just now.
Desperate for broadband, Bedfordshire.
17. anonymous
No moaning of mating modems.
No pictures jerking slowly down the screen.
No waiting all afternoon for 10 meg software upgradesfor my Mac to meander down.
High res photogaphs and videos flash between me and my grand children.
Hardly any contention delays in the 2.5 years I have had my 1mbps Cable BB. No viruses.
Conclusion: Anyone who sticks with steam 56kbs dial-up or even ISDN must be nuts
18. Gordon
OK so Tiscali 150K is not really broadband but at £15 a month for an always on connection it sure beats the dial-up and surftime packages that cost about the same and can only be used at evenings and weekends
19. David Brunnen
Well at least Ofcom are clear - DSL at 512k is not 'true broadband' according to the Ofcom chairman Lord Currie. See the story 'liquid bandwidth'at www.abfl.co.uk/library.htm
20. Trevor Viner
Considering the extent to which broadband has been pushed from its humble beginnings to the monster it has threatened to become, those of us still in the rural market are becoming increasingly disillusioned by the lack of it. When are the likes of the major players going to pick up on this extensive, yet untapped market. I for 1 live in an area where it is only believed that 135 people are interested in such a product, when - if truth were known - there are 3 schools, a lucrative small business park and numerous other locations which would benefit greatly. At this moment in time the threshold has been set @ 400 requests, at this rate if these figures are to be believed, rural Britain would be in a worse state than most remote schools in New Zealand - a place which considers its schools connection to the data highway at a significantly higher priority than those in rural UK. I look forward to comments from those in the industry who beg to differ.
21. Paul Davies
I'm inclined to disagree with the below average standards the UK is being offered. What this country needs to do is realise that by ignoring the communications situation we are falling drastically behind. I can't be bothered to argue this point further, the bottom line is it'll be a lot quicker to learn a new language and move to Germany, Sweden or Japan and reap the rewards of countries that take I.T. and communications seriously. That is all I have to say.
22. Bryan J Pearn
I couldn't agree more, Simon, I have the Tiscali 'slow' ADSL & find it such an improvement. I have no need to join these people who are never satisfied.
For an extra £1 per month, I have, in my opinion, a fast enough service.
To each his own, thankyou Tiscali!