O2: You Probably Don't Need Fast Broadband

DO you ever stop and think, 'blimey this broadband's going a bit fast'?

Didn't think so. According to O2, though, maybe you should.

The provider reckons that collectively we're overpaying for broadband to the tune of around £700 million a year.

Although the average consumer pays for up to 20Mb speeds they'd be served perfectly well by an up to 8Mb broadband deal, the provider argues.

Based on average prices, up to 20Mb broadband is £76.33 a year more expensive than up to 8Mb broadband.

When O2 asked 2,000 consumers for the three things they used their broadband for most frequently 77% answered with email, 74% said general browsing and 51% said they paid bills and did their banking online.

All three are fairly low bandwidth activities, O2 point out, and don't require superfast speeds.

In contrast, just 18% of respondents said they most frequently streamed content and only 5% put downloading films or music in their top three.

Holes in the logic

This is all well and good but there are a few holes in O2's logic. Here are two.

First, though consumers obviously use their broadband for low bandwidth activities - who doesn't check their emails and browse sites? - they might still feel it's worth paying extra to be able to watch iPlayer without problems every now and then.

More importantly, since most home broadband connections are shared, they might be willing to pay more to benefit someone in their household that falls into that magic 18%.

Second, it might be true that on average up to 20Mb broadband is more expensive but some of the UK's cheapest broadband deals are up to 20Mb.

Plusnet Value (£6.49 a month) recently became an up to 20Mb service, for example, and Sky's standalone broadband (£10 a month) is also up to 20Mb.

More than speeds

Whatever the holes, it's hard to disagree that many consumers are currently overpaying for their broadband.

O2 might be less thrilled to point out that it's often the case that consumers are plumping for unlimited deals when a small download limit would suit and be cheaper.

It's also hard to argue against the fact that much of broadband advertising is speed-centric, despite the fact that broadband speeds are notoriously liable to be affected by, well, almost anything.

As Felix Geyr, Head of O2 Home and Broadband, said, "62% of broadband consumers in our survey would prefer their ISP to provide packages based around their specific needs. Therefore, our industry needs to tailor its services to people's needs, help consumers understand exactly what they should be buying and avoid marketing based solely on speed."

Still, it's hard to shake the feeling that a broadband provider telling you speeds don't really matter that much is something like a waiter telling you that flavour is passe or a used car dealer telling you that the engine's meant to make that noise.

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