UPDATE:  Roger Darlington covers the progress of this important issue here.  The primary legal difference between the U.S. and the U.K. in this regard is the availability of class action relief in the U.S.  While class action lawsuits are often abused, they certainly put a stop to this type of improper commercial activity.

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Living in the shadow of Oxford University Press and all the colleges of Oxford, you would my internet speeds would be the envy of the UK. Not true — I test my connection frequently. Despite being on an 8 Mbit/s contract, I have never received anywhere even approaching 1/2 that speed. Most times I receive less than 1 Mbit/s. Thus, my near-continual complaints that Ofcom have lazily presided over a huge consumer rip-off over the past few years.

Ofcom say they are finally looking into the issue — Godspeed…

Anyway, I also just bought an old house near Atlanta, GA. The 1930’s vintage wiring around these parts produced this result:

My tariff says ‘up to 16 Mbit/s’ so someone is under-promising and over-delivering.

The 32 HD channels aren’t bad either…