It\'s well known that many small businesses in rural areas struggle with poor internet speeds which unquestionably puts them at a disadvantage. To add insult to injury, they are charged exactly the same rate for their broadband as others who are getting theirs up to ten times faster, with no compensation for the poor service received. Clearly this is scandalously unfair, and it\'s hard to think of any other product or service where customers are so unfairly and indiscriminately charged.
Clare Wade of Mindspace Market Research is mounting a campaign to get the Government to step in and oblige service providers to structure their rates based on the speed of broadband delivered, so the product cost is much more representative of what customers are actually buying. (Clare\'s office receives an average speed of 0.8 mb/s from an exchange which is in fact capable of delivering 8.0 mb/s, but runs out of puff before it reaches her). She feels strongly that even when we are all \'superfast\' there must be controls in place to ensure that those who get on to \'super-superfast\' are charged accordingly, and less fortunate customers cannot be short-changed again in the same way.
As part of her campaign Clare will be carrying out research with businesses who feel or have felt themselves compromised by poor broadband, in order to make a strong case for change. Clare will be blogging on the progress of her campaign and anyone interested in being involved in the research programme or supporting the cause should contact Clare via her website.
Mindspace Market Research
A Fife-based market research consultancy established in 1992. We conduct surveys, focus groups, telephone interviews and online research for private and public sector organisations across all product sectors. Our role is to help businesses understand what their customers think - and why - so they can make informed decisions about the direction and development of their product or service.
