SOME internet connections aren’t anywhere near as fast as they were promised to be, according to industry watchdog Ofcom.

The so-called ‘speed gap’ between what people are promised when they sign up for broadband and what they actually get once they’re connected is getting ever wider.

That said, average actual connection speeds have improved slightly by 10% in the last six months.

You might wonder what difference a few megabits per second makes to most people and you’d be right in thinking that most of the time it won’t make much.

But, as we rely on the net more and more for day-to-day services – not just shopping and banking but now gaming, watching TV shows and movies – the speed of connections becomes more important.

Ofcom’s chief executive Ed Richards said: “The research is still telling us that some consumers are not receiving anywhere near the speeds that are being advertised by some ISPs.”

Although broadband customers were generally better informed these days than they used to be, he urged the industry to do a better job of explaining connection speeds more clearly.

New changes to the ISP code of practice mean that from now on people will be allowed to switch providers without penalty if they find they’re getting significantly slower connections than they were promised.

You can download Ofcom’s full report from goo.gl/szwwV. If you want to check your home broadband connection, visit www.broadbandspeedchecker.co.uk and follow the simple instructions.

A TIME MACHINE

The Deep Time clock shows you just how old the Earth is by comparing the planet’s history to a 12-hour clock. Every second represents over 104,000 actual years. Animals have only been around since 10 o’clock or so and mammals appeared just under three minutes ago. Humans popped up just seconds before noon and appear on the clock as a tiny coloured blip. Click on events and eons to find out more about them. A great site for school kids and grown-ups alike. You can dive into time at http://deeptime.info