It's true that Trading Standards are investigating. UK broadband is pretty crap all around, to be honest. If you go with DSL, you're often on a crappy exchange that couldn't get 8MB if you were signed up with NASA, and if you are on a good exchange, many of the DSL providers aren't providing close to the speeds they advertise as maximum.
If, on the other hand you go with cable, which is generally much more consistent, they can't afford to give you the speeds they advertise, so they do this "traffic shaping" crap instead.
The problem is really about false advertising, not the service. If they advertised two megs and you got it, it would be fine, because you're then able to make a decision on whether you want it or not. At the moment, it's practically impossible to make a decision on which broadband supplier you want because you have no idea what you'll actually get in practice until you're signed up. They need to be made to advertise honestly so that it's remotely possible to make an informed decision.
If, on the other hand you go with cable, which is generally much more consistent, they can't afford to give you the speeds they advertise, so they do this "traffic shaping" crap instead.
The problem is really about false advertising, not the service. If they advertised two megs and you got it, it would be fine, because you're then able to make a decision on whether you want it or not. At the moment, it's practically impossible to make a decision on which broadband supplier you want because you have no idea what you'll actually get in practice until you're signed up. They need to be made to advertise honestly so that it's remotely possible to make an informed decision.