Mobile broadband speeds fall short

Sixty-five per cent of mobile broadband customers in the UK get a speed of under 1Mbps despite many providers advertising speeds of 3.6Mbps or greater.

This is according to price comparison service Broadband Genie, which said that of the 3,600 tests it conducted, only 0.5 per cent actually reached a speed of 3Mpbs plus.

Broadband Genie editor Chris Marling said: "Once again it would seem the mad rush to secure the early adopters has exceeded the ability of the product to live up to over-hyped expectations.

"It's a real shame too, as mobile broadband can be be perfect for a lot of uses, even at speeds below 1Mbps. But consumer expectations are not being met, which could lead to burn out and a slow in sales," Marling continued.

The report echoes separate research from rival price comparison site Broadband Expert issued in September.

And earlier this year industry regulator Ofcom issued 3G coverage maps of the UK, which showed that most network operators offered poor coverage for mobile broadband services.


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