ISPs are not always open an honest about broadband speeds. For example, my line provides connection speed of about 4 mbps. When downloading a small file, such as a web page, I guess that I do get something like that speed. But when I download a large file, say around 50 MByte, such as a piece of software or large photo (I'm not talking about complete DVDs here) I can see the speed dropping from the equivalent of 4 mbps down to 2 mbps or less. This is nothing to do with technology, but a deliberate throttling by the ISP to conserve bandwidth. So for large files, where speed really does matter, you get a slower service. The term 'up to 8 mbps' gives no indication of this ploy, and you will find nothing on most suppliers' websites to tell you what they are up to.

jangl3r, EPSOM, UK

The issue is not just the "up to 8mbps" connection speed (which is down to BT's infrastructure of copper wires and exchange technology not the individual ISP) but the fact that many ISPs oversell their network and don't have enough capacity to support their size of customer base. Some blame BT's high wholesale prices, some blame ISPs trying to compete on price so much that the market has got to point where it's not viable to provide a good adsl connection at the market retail price given BT's high wholesale prices.

Dan, Cumbria,

The problem lies with ADSL Technology. There is very big limitations on it's operation over distance. I seriously doubt that BT or any company will upgrade the cables from the very old copper wires any time soon as it's uneconomical to do so. So ADSL is the only way in which they can offer a service to your home as the telephone cables are the only wires that exist nationaly. Unfortunatly the technology is not capable of more and this means that unless you use a different technology such as wireless or cable you have no hope of improvement no matter which supplier you choose. I think these problems are due to the lack of investment in telecommunications in the UK. Yes we are way behind Korea etc in this field wyhere fiber optic cables are the norm.

cris verrinder, newport, iw

If I was paying for 8mbps and only getting 1mbps I would feel very cheated. I would at least be looking for a BIG discount, even if I knew why I was only get 1mbps.

There should be a 1 month breaking in period and you should be charged on the actual speed you get.

ML, Chippenham,

I'm with BT who I think are still the best internets service provider. I know my speed is nothing like I was advised it would be, but it's not just about speed. It's about the software provided, security on line, email filtering and customer service. I feel let down about the speed, badly let down, but I think I'll stay with BT for those other reasons.

RayB , Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

Its not just down to the speed of you connection, some customers that play online games are after low latency more than the speed. Some ISP's dont make it clear that they will be using there own equipment at the exchange and will charge you £50 when you find out your ping has increased by a third and want to go back to a quality supplier of broadband.

andy , derby, derbyshire

What is the point of try before you buy, you see it time and time again where you download speed is great on your trial and when you are in contract it slows down.

Dave M, stanley, durham

I don't see what the trial period achieves. A customer may be disappointed with speeds on their specific connection but what alternative do they have (assuming they don't live in an area that provides cable) as changing ISP's will not affect this. A line that offers 4Mb/s will perform the same regardless of ISP. A far far more sensible option would be to have mandated a break clause within any contract that extends over more than 3 months. This would not suffer the same potential abuse from the consumer base where people get free temporary connections with no intent on purchasing the service or trial hop.

Wayne Stallwood, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk

It's about time something was done about the misleading way that adsl broadband was marketed. ISPs offer attractive 8Mbs connection packages, with 'unlimited' download, IF you sign up for a 12 month contract. Fine, but the 8Mbs often turns out to be much, much lower, and the 'unlimited' feature also reveals itself to be very limited after all. Try using your 'unlimited' connection to download over 50GB in a month and you'll encounter stiff measures to prevent you doing so. The truth is that ISPs know full well that on a domestic line with a contention ratio of 50:1 there is no way on earth that they can provide a totally unlimited high speed connection. So, sign up, realise everything aint quite as rosy as you'd been led to believe by the glossy advertising, and decide to cancel? Tough! Penalties for handing the ISP their crap package back again, can be steep. It's high time the ISPs were brought into line. Do it now.

Tony Pritchard, Cancun, Mexico

Although it may seem unfair to the consumer that the speeds are not as high as they may have expected. Broadband is in no way falsely advertised, My connection is supposed to be up to 8 Megabits/sec and is nearer to 1. I dont feel cheated, its just the quality and distance from the exchange. How else are ISPs supposed to advertise their potential Bandwidths? And surely free broadband trials would be abused, customers would use every ISP trial in the country to avoid paying.

James Baker, Kent, England

Isn't this another in the long list of suppliers of goods who charge too much for their services, and don't provide what they say they do, commonly known as "Rip Off Britain

Phil de Buquet, Newport, England

"A Which? report in August concluded that while many packages now advertise speeds of 'up to' 8 megabytes per second (Mbps), the average speed for such connections was 2.7 Mbps. "

Mbps stands for MegaBITS per second. There are 8 bits to the byte so there is no way you will get 2.7MegaBytes per second download.

J B, London, England

How could this possibly work?

The current charge by BT Wholesale for an ADSL connection is in the region of £40.00. Also, with providers currently in fierce competition how could a 1 month trial on another ISP work. A Mac key would be required for both moves.

This is a ridiculous idea. People should take more responsibility for ensuring they understand how broadband works before signing away there money.

Ben, Sheffield, UK