Providers are advertising their internet speeds at much higher capabilities than is actually delivered, according to a new survey.

Released the results of its survey today, Ofcom discovered that the average broadband speed in the UK stands at 4.1Mbit/s, despite the typical offered speed standing at 7.1Mbit/s.

However, many sellers are using a descriptive loophole to advertise the possible speeds achievable with the line, even if the average high stands at just over half of this figure.

O2 was the best 8Mbit/s line tested by Ofcom, with a regular speed of between 4.1 and 5.1Mbit/s, though the same could not be said for last-placed Tiscali, which could only deliver between 3.2 and 3.7Mbit/s.

Despite the cap being up at 10Mbit/s, Virgin Media was able to give consumers between 8.1 and 8.7Mbit/s, meaning it largely met customer expectations.

Product director of BroadbandChoices.co.uk Michael Phillips explained that the results were very good for Virgin, though the survey itself did not surprise his organisation.

In a recent survey of SMEs for Connect, the two most important benefits of outsourcing were guaranteed response times and allowing in-house IT staff to concentrate on more strategic issues.