15 July 2008

MADRID - The hollow promises and half truths about internet-access speeds made by Spain's telecommunications providers could soon be a thing of the past under new regulations unveiled by the government on Monday.

As part of a new decree governing the telecoms sector, the government will seek to prohibit internet service providers (ISP) from advertising higher bandwidth for broadband  connections than users actually receive.

"We want to stop the proliferation of false offers," Industry Minister Miguel Sebastián said Monday. Providers will now have to guarantee at least 80 percent of the connection speed they advertise.

Currently, ISPs advertise the highest theoretical internet access speed - a rate that in practice is only obtained by customers living in the direct vicinity of their telephone exchange.

[El Pais / Expatica]