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The telco's retail arm put the problems down to congestion of some exchanges caused by rising demand.

'Broadband usage in the UK has been one of the great consumer technology success stories and we are aware that this accelerating demand has meant that a few exchanges can be congested at very busy times,' the statement reads. 'The broadband team at BT Retail is working with our BT Wholesale colleagues to resolve this issue as soon as possible.'

It goes on to explain that BT Retail is currently introducing extra bandwidth availability and working to improve the way that broadband traffic is managed at peak times.

'Both of these initiatives will improve your experience and if you are amongst the small number of broadband users that have been experiencing slower speeds through congestion you should be noticing improvements shortly, if you're not doing so already,' it says.

ISP Review said that statement was a 'surprise' as while it had seen 'one or two remarks' complaints were not above normal levels. But Think Broadband pointed to users on its BT Broadband forum who had been concerned about slow speeds.