According to a report from Ofcom, speeds are up around ten per cent and now stand at an average of 6.8Mb. In spite of this improvement, consumers are still seeing a rise in the gap between the actual speed received and the speed advertised.

In tests conducted by uSwitch.com, Virgin was found to be the fastest provider with speeds averaging 14.68Mb across the nation. Be came in second place with 8.15Mb, followed by BT with 7.06Mb. In last place was Eclipse with 4.10Mb.

Ernest Doku, technology expert at uSwitch, commented: “While it's great to see British broadband get steadily faster, the key issue is still that customers are signing up to one service and receiving another.

“At 15Mb, the average advertised speed is more than double the average speeds that people are receiving. It's like signing up to a Porsche and ending up with a Robin Reliant.”

He added that the quality of a customer’s line and how far away from the exchange they live are both factors continuing to affect the actual speed of broadband received.

Ofcom has decided to significantly reduce the prices that BT Wholesale is allowed to charge internet service providers (ISPs) in rural and less densely populate areas. It is hoped that the price reduction, which will be 12 per cent below inflation each year, will encourage more competition between retail ISPs and lead to cheaper prices for customers.

Potentially, three million homes and businesses could benefit as ISPs roll out their own networks and BT Wholesale works to upgrade services where possible. It isn’t just the prices that will suit consumers, but the service itself should also start to improve.

If wholesale broadband costs are reduced, ISPs should be able to purchase more capacity for their customers without increasing their costs. Furthermore, the exemption by Ofcom of ADSL2+ from charge controls has been designed to encourage BT Wholesale to invest in this technology, which is capable of supporting faster broadband speeds than ADSL.

The move follows earlier attempts by Ofcom to improve rural internet access. In December 2010, the regulator lifted wholesale regulation in areas of the country where it decided that broadband competition was working well for consumers. This contributed to an increase in the percentage of UK households which are now served by effective competition.

'Bill shock’ is when consumers get a much higher mobile phone, landline or broadband bill than they were expecting. This can be because of making calls abroad, downloading data, particularly via mobile broadband, having a phone stolen, going over a price plan allocation or calling premium rate numbers.

Despite regulations in place forcing providers to give consumers clear information on bills and contracts, Ofcom’s research shows that six per cent of Brits have received an unexpectedly high mobile phone bill in the last year and for 18 per cent of those people, the bill was £100 or more than they were anticipating.

The regulator is now asking anyone who has experienced bill shock in the last year to get in touch by responding to its consultation. It wants to hear from anyone who has received a one-off bill in the last 12 months that was significantly higher than they expected it to be.

Ofcom is also interested in hearing from relevant stakeholders. It will use the evidence it receives to determine whether it needs to take any further action to bolster the rules which are already in place.

An official announcement on which broadband funding applications have been successful is expected by 27 May, but there have been indications that BDUK could begin contacting local authorities this week to let them know whether their application is through to the next phase of the process.

Norfolk County Council (NCC) is one local authority that is keen to know the latest news. Karen O'Kane, head of information and communications technology at NCC, told the Eastern Daily Press that she had reason to believe that successful councils would hear something towards the end of this week. She said, "We've just got to wait and keep everything crossed."

At the end of April NCC submitted proposals to BDUK on improving broadband access so that all homes and businesses in Norfolk would be able to receive minimum speeds of 2Mbps by March 2015. The council has bid for £15 million and will match that figure with funds of its own. Ms O’Kane said that NCC is confident it will receive broadband funding and has already begun preparing so that the work can begin quickly.

DSL broadband use will now be capped at 150GB per month, whilst U-Serve customers will have a limit of 250GB. Any consumers who exceed these limits will be charged $10 for each additional 50GB that they use. Customers will be warned when they are approaching the limit and AT&T has said it plans to launch an online tracker so that consumers can check their usage.

AT&T says that just two per cent of its customers will be affected by this cap and on average subscribers use just 18GB per month. However, usage is likely to rise further as online streaming services for music, films and TV shows grow in popularity, and some have suggested this trend is something that broadband providers are cashing in on.

American online streaming site Netflix, for example, gained at extra 3.5 million customers in the first three months of 2011, taking its subscription base to close to 24 million. Each hour of Netflix streaming uses around 2GB of data, so it’s easy to see how AT&T’s new limits could quickly be reached.

Experts suggest that many other broadband providers will now follow suit with similar usage limits and charges.

Group sales increased by 17 per cent during the first three months of 2011, whilst Ericsson shares were up 7.4 per cent on the day the figures were released.

The company reported that mobile broadband sales saw growth in five out of ten regions, with particularly strong trade in markets such as America, India, Japan, Korea, Russia and China. However, it said that supply chain disruptions caused by the recent disaster in Japan could take until quarter three to stabilise.

Ericsson said it continued to gain market shares in 3G during 2010 and maintained its market shares of over 50 per cent in 4G. It also increased its margin in networks, which accounted for 60 per cent of sales in the first quarter of 2011.

Greger Johansson, an analyst at Redeye, commented on the figures to Reuters, "It was an extremely strong report. The network side is coming through fantastically and the whole of Ericsson is getting (sales) growth of 17 per cent now.

"Even the gross margin, and as a consequence the profit, is better than expected," he added.

The company says its aim to give faster download speeds to all customers within the broadband network area builds on commitments to enhance Orange's broadband service and "evolve" the firm's UK home broadband offering.

As well as introducing the new speeds, Orange is refreshing its home broadband portfolio. Part of this will entail all new customers being able to download the multimedia content they want, with an unlimited download usage allowance across all price plans (subject to fair usage).

"With these faster speeds, built around price plans which really do offer value for money, customers can make the most of the internet and enjoy a faster and more seamless experience when going online," said Asif Aziz, Orange UK's director of broadband and home.

The cheapest broadband deal available on the service is £9 a month, or £7 a month with an Orange pay monthly mobile plan, through the "no frills" Home Starter and Home Select plans.

Home Ultra, including the Livebox wireless router, is available from £10.50 per month to Orange mobile pay monthly customers.

In a report entitled "Digital Britain", officials set out their intention to implement recommendations made by independent spectrum broker Kip Meek in May, covering 3G licences and spectrum auctions.

Digital Britain minister Stephen Timms says the report's proposals will free parts of the digital spectrum for mobile broadband and 3G to offer more sophisticated services and applications, boosting "jobs, growth and competitiveness" in the process.

"It's vital that we make the best use of the digital spectrum and ensure that sufficient bandwidth is available for sophisticated next-generation services and not just calls and texts," he continues.

"This package will free up the airwaves for the expansion of wireless and 3G services, increasing their reach to consumers and businesses across as much as 90 per cent of the country, including rural communities."

Mobile operators and telecoms firms will be able to provide new high-speed services thanks to the imminent availability of radio frequencies made available by the digital switchover of television broadcasts.