Huge support for minimum broadband speeds, study finds

A survey carried out by broadband comparison website ISPreview.co.uk has found 77 per cent of participants support the Government's proposals for introducing minimum broadband speeds of 10Mbps.

Last year, the Government proposed plans for a new Universal Service Obligation (USO) that would ensure that every business and home would obtain the new speeds.

Currently, the existing USO set by the telecom regulators only requires that operators deliver “functional internet access” which in today's terms is an internet speed equivalent to 28.8kbps, or dial-up speed.

The survey questioned 1,823 UK internet users between 7 January and 22 February about the proposed update to the USO and found that three-quarters of the respondents support the Government's changes. Furthermore, the survey suggests that people would also be willing to pay a little extra to get the faster speeds.

However, a significant proportion also felt that the USO should offer much higher speeds than 10Mbps, with 75 per cent arguing for better connection speeds using a variety of different connection methods including Fibre-to-the-Premises.

When polled on Satellite connectivity just 32 per cent supported the motion, preferring a fixed line connection with 53 per cent against and 15 per cent unsure.

Founder of ISPreview.co.uk, Mark Jackson, in his analysis of the survey, commented: “Consumers clearly want a good quality connection, perhaps ideally a fixed line service, which may explain why only 31 per cent would support the 10Mbps USO if the Government attempted to use a quick-fix solution like Satellite to deliver it.

"Satellite has already been used for the non-binding 2Mbps Universal Service Commitment (USC), but it can’t deliver a low latency service and struggles to match the affordable IPTV / video streaming friendly ‘unlimited’ usage allowances of superior methods.”

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