Poll: Are you happy with your broadband speed?
Up to three-quarters of households are paying for advertised broadband speeds that they have never received, a survey suggests.
Consumer champions Which? found that 74% are not receiving the promised headline speeds on their broadband packages - the equivalent of 15.4 million homes - despite nine in 10 people saying this was an important factor when choosing a provider.
The watchdog also found that just 17% of homes received an average speed that matched the advertised level, while even less - 15% - managed this during the peak evening period.
The study also found that "incredibly" 98% of rural homes did not typically receive the advertised headline speed, while 31% of households in towns and cities were able to receive the maximum level.
Advertising guidelines say speeds quoted in broadband adverts need apply to a minimum of 10% of all customers.
But Which? said it found three packages that could not meet the minimum requirement, with only 4% of customers on TalkTalk's 17Mbps package and 1% of those on BT and Plusnet's 76Mbps deals receiving the top advertised speeds.
Ofcom announced changes last week designed to make it easier for customers to switch their broadband provider if they are not receiving the speed advertised on their contract.
But Which? said it wanted the rules changed so that providers are only allowed to advertise speeds that most of their customers can receive.
Which? executive director Richard Lloyd said: "It's not good enough that millions of homes are so poorly served by their broadband provider with speeds that just don't live up to what was advertised.
"Broadband is an essential part of life these days so people shouldn't be persuaded to buy a package which is never going to live up to expectations.
"We've raised our concerns with the advertising authorities, but we now want Ofcom to ensure consumers get the speeds promised by providers."
:: Populus surveyed 2,339 UK adults online on September 17-18 2014.
