It shouldn't all be about speed, says O2 broadband boss

Last week telecommunications watchdog Ofcom released the results of a covert mystery shopping exercise in which it investigated how well UK internet service providers were complying with is Voluntary Code of Practice. You can read up on Ofcom's findings and the results of its research in our news story, here.

After publishing its results Ofcom confirmed it would be commissioning a second round research project in which it would test the fastest advertised broadband packages on the market at the moment.

Since this announcement, O2's head of home and broadband has felt the need to speak on Ofcom's voluntary code of practice and its insistence on concentrating on the speed of broadband packages.

Writing on his O2 blog Felix Geyr questioned whether Ofcom's decision to focus on speed is the right decision and called on the industry to reconsider the best way to sell broadband: "I am not convinced that basing products on speed is the right thing to do..." said Geyr. "It could be that in the future the broadband industry will have to change the way it packages broadband. Whatever that is will have to make packages clearer and more straightforward for customers."

Disappointingly Geyr didn't have any solid suggestions for alternative broadband selling points but he did take the opportunity to reiterate O2's method of speed checking. He commented: "...we are happy to be part of the code... Before completing a purchase, we carry out a line check to estimate the speed the customer can receive. This is checked again after connection to ensure the package selected by the customer is the right one for them, and that they only pay for the package with the speed their line can support."

Geyr also spoke of O2's decision to offer a 30-day Happiness Guarantee promise and the fact it is currently investing in its own local-loop unbundling (LLU broadband network).

You can read Felix Geyr's full O2 blog post, here.