O2 Enters Top Five Consumer ADSL Broadband Providers
For the first time O2 has entered the top five consumer ADSL broadband providers in the UK. They ranked third in terms of technical performance over the second half of 2007, just behind Plusnet. BT sustained their position at the top of the table, as they have all year. Tiscali and Orange complete the top five.
| Overall Ranking | Q1 2007 | Q2 2007 | Q3 & Q4 (combined) 2007 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BT | BT | BT |
| 2 | Demon | Demon | PlusNet |
| 3 | AOL | Tiscali | O2 |
| 4 | Pipex | Pipex | Tiscali |
| 5 | TalkTalk | PlusNet | Orange |
The ADSL Internet Performance Indicator (IPI) Report is produced by Epitiro, the broadband benchmarking company. The IPI is the result of six months of technical testing using Epitiro’s ISP-I (pronounced “eye spy”) technology.
ISP-I conducts tests of 16 performance metrics of the largest 11 competing ADSL broadband providers every 15 minutes from the end-users’ perspective. The data collected provides detailed figures on the speed and reliability of Internet connections, and performance of essential Internet qualities such as download, upload, ping and domain name service (DNS) performance. The data is then collated to compile the top five rankings.
The report only compares Internet services based on competing ADSL technologies, including ADSL Max and ADSL 2+. As cable technologies use different network equipment, and are not available nationwide, they are not included in the comparison.
Epitiro’s Managing Director Gavin Johns said: “While many customers are choosing their service provider on price alone, an increasing number seem to be choosing their service on download speeds, and judging their selection of company on crude online speed tests. Both approaches could lead to disappointment. It’s important to remember that download speed is just one indicator of broadband performance. Other factors such as the reliability and quality of the network connection are just as important as speed when judging an Internet service.
“For example, what is the use of fast connection speeds if the connection doesn’t work when you want it to? What about packet loss, DNS and PING performance – all qualities that affect a customer’s online experience? The Epitiro Consumer ADSL IPI Report reveals true ADSL technical performance. It’s a unique and indispensable tool for anyone interested in the quality of user experience provided by ADSL providers,” continued Mr. Johns.
Individual Category Rankings
“A key factor of O2’s success in the second half of 2007 was its Non-Cached HTTP download speed,” said Mr. Johns. “This is the best reflection of the speed of general web browsing experienced by consumers.
“O2 was also ranked first in its ping time average. Ping time average is a measure of server response time. Fast ping times are generally desirable for online casual gamers. The lower the ping time, the more enjoyable and playable the gaming experience.”
“Customers are demanding faultless performance from their service providers. Packet loss is just one metric of Internet performance but it is crucial for the performance of streaming video and Internet telephony. Significant packet loss results in substantial customer irritation as it diminishes the voice quality of phone calls over the Internet and causes online video to stall and buffer.”
“ISP-I is an invaluable tool for ISPs, as it’s the only way that they can get a true picture of how their networks are performing for customers.”
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Notes to Editors
For further editorial information or to arrange an interview please contact epitiro@pwkpr.com or telephone 020 7609 1900.
About Epitiro
Epitiro offers a range of services to Internet Service Providers (ISPs) enabling them to benchmark customer performance across dial up, cable, broadband and wireless connections.
The ISP-I™ Service Assurance and benchmarking platform from Epitiro emulates an Internet user’s online activity and gathers a range of detailed statistics including connection speed, reliability, performance and email delivery for independent analyses.