BROADBAND SUPPLIERS have come under fire for misleading the public over download speeds, with a survey showing the average UK speed is a sluggish 2.95Mb.

The figures, collated last month by comparison website Broadband Expert, paint a mixed picture, with Tiscali snatching the bottom spot with the lowest average speed of 1.72Mb.

The fastest service was provided by Be broadband, part of the O2 group, which averaged speeds of 6.07Mb.

The survey also assessed upload speeds, with Be broadband clocking the fastest speed of 850KB/s, compared with UK average of 296Kb/s or 0.296Mb. Orange was the slowest, achieving only 219Kb/s.

William Harvey, technical director at Broadband-Expert.co.uk said that despite pressure from both consumer groups and Ofcom, suppliers "are still misleading the public over broadband speeds".

"Current advertising campaigns like the one for Tiscali broadband promise superfast broadband speeds of up to 8Mb. Yet Tiscali came bottom of our test results with an average actual download speed of just 1.72Mb," he said.

"Now that is not superfast by any stretch of the imagination and is over 1Mb lower than the UK average."

Suppliers were sending out a confusing message to consumers by quoting the maximum possible download speeds in their advertising, he said – speeds which are only often achieved by "a very small percentage of subscribers".

"Providers should state the average download and upload speeds achieved by their broadband subscribers, this would give consumers a better idea of the sort of speeds they are likely to receive and would encourage providers to deliver better broadband products."

Tiscali was not immediately available for comment.

Harvey said the higher speeds achieved by Be broadband was partially due to its use of ADSL2+ technology which works much faster than traditional ADSL technology which is still used by most providers.

To run a speed test, click here. The results from the comparative speed tests, which surveyed more than 18,500 connections, can be found lower down the page by clicking on the blue 'Speed Test Results' tab. µ