Epitiro: Getting good broadband; Ofcom won’t recommend…

The broadband gurus at Epitiro have put together a booklet entitled ‘Getting Good Broadband’. It is available here. (Caution: it’s laced with that annoying stock photography common to these booklets).

For UK consumers, their best suggestion is to emigrate. Bada bing!

Ofcom also has some guidance and tips on broadband ISP selection on its website. They do have an important disclaimer, however:

‘As an independent regulator, Ofcom cannot list the ‘cheapest’ Internet Service Providers or the ones that provide the ‘best’ all-round broadband service.’

Cannot? Or will not?

Ofcom is not exactly saying this correctly. Ofcom certainly can provide league tables that measure certain broadband indicators or the result of mystery shopping exercises for consumers. This is what Ofcom did for DQ services. This is what loads of other regulators across the world do for food labeling, water quality, airline arrival times, etc.

So I am very much hoping Ofcom abandon the idea that independent regulators do not regulate by information disclosure. Ofcom’s ongoing broadband census would be much more meaningful to the public if comparative data about ISPs’ services were made available to consumers.

That’s independent regulation…