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Broadband providers have suffered a consumer backlash in recent years, with actual ADSL connection speeds routinely failing to match the the headline 8Mb/sec figure. This led Ofcom's Consumer Panel to demand ISPs review the way they advertise broadband packages.

BT is set to install its 21CN network across the country from April, offering a theoretical maximum line speed of 24Mb/sec. According to the general manager of BT Wholesale broadband, Guy Bradshaw, this gives ISPs the perfect opportunity to get more realistic with their advertised speeds.

"Headline speeds still seem to be the key marketing lever," Bradshaw said. "As an industry,

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we should focus on average throughput."

21CN speeds

BT also provided some alarming insights into how speeds will continue to fall well below the theoretical maximum when it moves to ADSL2+ technology on the 21CN network.

It showed a model of a typical ADSL2+ connection that was 2.5km from the local exchange achieving actual speeds of only 5-6Mb/sec - just a third of the theoretical maximum, and no better than many people experience today.

BT insisted that these figures were only estimates and that it will have a better idea of likely throughputs after more extensive trials. "We think 50% of lines will have 12Mb/sec or better," claimed Cameron Rejali, managing director of products and strategy at BT Wholesale.

Rejali said that BT plans to have 21CN installed in 80 (5%) of the country's telephone exchanges by the end of April, concentrated mostly in the Midlands.

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