In a blow for the mobile phone industry it has been revealed that mobile broadband speeds have actually slowed over the last few months, as oppose to the massive increase which many network providers have advertised. While the likes of Vodafone offer a service which offers broadband speeds in the region of 7Mbs, the average rate has been shown to be no higher than 2.3Mbs, with the lowest across the industry at a poor 1Mbs. So what is going on?

The mobile broadband industry in the UK is well behind its foreign counterparts with areas such as Singapore offering speeds which put the UK to shame. The problem for the UK consumer is the fact that companies such as Vodafone, and the rest in the industry who offer mobile broadband, prefer to highlight the maximum speeds available on their services. The actual average speed has been shown to be substantially less than some of the more headline grabbing promises. So is this misrepresentation?

The fact that the top speeds are available to some users in the network ensures that there are no legal problems with the figures quoted on websites and in the press. Coverage in some of the more rural areas of the UK is sparse to say the least, which is the opposite of the more urban areas where coverage is substantially better.

Those in the broadband industry are now suggesting that customers looking for mobile broadband should also consider the coverage of the network they plan to sign up with, which should give an idea of the speeds which might be available in their area. There is no doubt that mobile broadband is the future but there is still a long way to go before the service is really ready for the mass market.