The claim comes after the regulator released a study claiming that 97% of consumers don’t receive the levels of service sold to them by ISPs and that only a quarter of those users are on services that support 10Mbps speeds (nma.co.uk 27 July 2010).

But Orange said the methodology of the study was questionable. In a statement to the press, an Orange spokesman said, “It’s disappointing to see the outcome of this speed research, which has surveyed fewer than 50 Orange customers, representing only a tiny fraction of our customer base, and therefore not a credible representative sample.”

Meanwhile, O2 – which emerged as the fastest UK DSL provider in the study – welcomed the study and claimed it recently moved to address such concerns with its Niggles and Narks campaign.

A review of such advertising by the Advertising Standards Authority won’t be completed before the end of 2010.

A code of conduct, giving consumers a clearer idea of the range of the speeds their line can support, is expected to come into force within the next 12 months.

Felix Geyr, O2’s head of home and broadband, said, “As part of the new code, Ofcom has said customers should be allowed to leave if their speed is lower than expected for more than three months.”