A year ago AT&T introduced tiered broadband pricing in the US. Its main DSL competitor, Verizon, markets "High Speed Internet", not "up to 8Mbps", and also offers the following small print: "Speeds and service availability vary. High Speed Internet will be provisioned based on Verizon line qualification requirements at 768 Kbps or up to 1 Mbps (1 Mbps service); at 1.5 Mbps or up to 3 Mbps (3 Mbps service); or at 5 Mbps or up to 7.1 Mbps (up to 7.1 Mbps service)." So American DSL providers are being much more transparent than their UK counterparts by clearly stating the performance bands, ie minimum and maximum speeds. Interestingly, they also do not claim a maximum of 8Mbps for standard DSL, as in the UK, but 7.1Mbps. This supports the Ofcom research results, that no one paying for “up to 8Mbps” can receive more than 7Mbps. It’s time for Ofcom to enforce similar marketing requirements in the UK. I won’t hold my breath. Twitter: twitter.com/DavidMercer_SA Client Reading: Broadband Service Provider Performance Benchmarking: Europe Q1 2009