TalkTalk has boosted the headline speed customers can expect from its ASDL broadband products to 16Mbps.
This is 2Mbps up from the previously advertised headline speed of up-to-14Mbps. As a result of TalkTalk investing £100 million into improving its network, customers signing up for to TalkTalk Broadband Essentials and TalkTalk Broadband Plus TV could be in line for some faster speeds.
Ofcom’s rules on ISPs advertising broadband speeds state that at least 10 per cent of subscribers must be able to achieve the advertised speed.
TalkTalk said: “As part of that our continual improvement, we are investing £100million on our network under the TalkTalk at Work programme and are pleased to announce that we now offer speeds of up to 16Mbps on our Essentials and Plus broadband packages, and the average broadband speed our customers enjoy have increased as well.
“Of course, it is always worth remembering that broadband speeds may vary due to factors like the distance between the customer’s home and their local exchange, their wiring and how good their line is, as well as how it is set up in home. Log onto our website to get a personalised speed estimate.”
The majority of ISPs selling DSL-type broadband these days use ADSL2+ technology, which provides a top speed of 24Mbps.
Factors such as a subscriber’s distance from a telephone exchange, the quality of the line and how busy the network is can cause the top speed to decrease. This makes 24Mbps a theoretical maximum speed, so Ofcom ruled that ISPs should state more realistic speeds in their advertising.
ISPs should offer customers speed tests over the phone during sign up but recent research showed that this still isn’t happening in every case. Before signing up, use our own Ookla-powered speed test tool to get a reading.
When signing up for services like TalkTalk Fibre, which uses FTTC (Fibre to the Cabinet) technology, sales teams ought to be able to provide a much more accurate estimation. This is because fibre optic connections are more reliable than copper ones and don’t suffer from the same distance differences as ADSL does.
FTTC lines have a copper element and so the distance of a subscriber’s house to a fibre-connected street cabinet determines the eventual speed you’ll get. This is similar to ADSL, but you’re not so heavily affected by your proximity to the nearest exchange.
TalkTalk Broadband Essentials costs £7.50/month (plus £15.40/month for standard line rental) and comes with unlimited downloads.
TalkTalk Broadband Plus TV gives you the same top speeds, unlimited download and comes with a free TalkTalk TV YouView box, giving you access to a range of free and premium content, including Sky TV channels, from £15.50/month plus line rental.
If you’ve got a TalkTalk connection and you want to see if your line speed has improved, you can use our broadband speed test tool.
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