During a debate in the National Assembly on the digital economy, Welsh Liberal Democrats are calling for an end to misleading broadband claims which often see customers paying for high speed broadband contracts which do not reflect the speed of service they were advertised.
Commenting, Eluned Parrott Welsh Liberal Democrat Shadow Minister for Economy said:
“I am very concerned that many people in Wales may not be getting a fair deal from their broadband provider. Customers are paying for high speed broadband contracts but in reality they only receive very slow broadband speeds which do not match the level of service that was advertised.
“Many businesses and individuals have contacted me to say that the current system is very unfair, because companies are able advertise that their broadband service is ‘up to’ a certain speed even if the majority of customers will receive a lower speed in practice.
“The EU is taking steps to ensure that operators must be more transparent about the actual broadband speeds provided and end misleading advertising. Under current OFCOM rules, advertised speeds must only be achievable by 10% of a provider’s customers, which is clearly unfair.
“The measures being proposed by the EU would help end excessive claims of internet companies who claim to deliver more megabytes than they actually do. Welsh Liberal Democrats are calling on the Welsh Government to work with the UK Government on these measures to ensure that we can bring an end to the unfair treatment of customers by powerful telecoms companies.”
