Slow broadband speed has forced The Consumer Panel to issue guidelines for mandatory code of practice to Ofcom. Also, the service providers are increasingly adopting new technology to provide better services to consumers.

The Consumer Panel, an independent UK organization, has asked Ofcom to promote mandatory code of practice for the UK broadband ISPs (Internet Service Providers). The main objective of the code is to bring the consumer concerns in regard of broadband speed to forefront, the much debated topic that has caught the attention of press and journals, as reported by Ovum .

The existing national network is generally called as being capable to deliver broadband speed of 8Mbit/s. In reality, the speed of broadband is much less. The distance from telephone exchange to user reduces the broadband speed. Apart from this, quality of line and the number of people using the service at a particular time also decrease the speed of the broadband. As per Ofcom, the average line speed is around 4.6Mbit/s.

On the other side, service providers are arguing that there are many factors, which retard the speed of broadband. Apart from this, viruses and quality of maintenance too slowdown the network speed.

Now the UK broadband sector is heading towards a saturation point. Attractive offers, declining prices and initiatives to increase speed have played an important role in spreading broadband in the country. However, these efforts are increasing pressure on service providers to offer additional services on lower prices as well as increasing the awareness of people. Expanding corporate sector is also helping in spreading broadband reach in the country.

High speed broadband is going to become the future technology of the UK. It is essential to grow businesses and creating wealth. With an objective of improving the Internet speed, major service providers are using new technologies. For instance, British Telecom (BT) introduced fiber optical cables that would increase the speed to 100MB/s. This is likely to increase the current subscriber base of the company from 120,000 business clients to 10,000 homes.

According to a Research Analyst at RNCOS , “The UK broadband industry is under intense pressure for improving the speed of network. The initiatives taken by the government and service providers will help in increasing the network speed. Consequently, it will help in enhancing the revenue of the broadband industry in the country.”