CARDIFF, Wales, September 24 /PRNewswire/ --

- Huge Broadband Performance Gap Across European Cities

Epitiro, the broadband communications authority, today published the
'European City Internet Performance Index 2008', a preliminary report based
on the company's ongoing research into broadband services across the EU
Member States.

The data, derived from testing broadband services from leading ISPs in
Amsterdam, Dublin, Lisbon, London, Madrid, Milan, Paris and Zurich, is part
of a major customer experience research project by Epitiro to understand the
actual broadband service levels delivered to EU consumers and businesses.

The early findings confirm the existence of a 'digital divide' amongst
European cities:

- Multinational ISPs that trade under the same brand name in different
      countries vary in performance as much as 44%

    - London and Amsterdam performed almost 3 times better than Madrid and
      Dublin in key tests

    - Milan and Dublin broadband service levels lag severely behind other
      European cities tested



The research considered technical parameters that affect popular uses
such as web surfing, VoIP, internet gaming and streaming video. Performance
measurements were conducted using Epitiro's recently expanded ISP-I(TM)
network of satellite devices that operate as typical home computers by
connecting to the internet and executing a series of test routines. The
dedicated testing apparatus avoids the possibility of erroneous measurements
with common 'speed test' web sites where unknown network paths and personal
computer configurations often skew results.

"Regulators, consumer advocate groups and ISPs need to know the true
broadband service levels delivered to customers," said Gavin Johns, CEO,
Epitiro. "The infrastructure investment we've made into Europe to provide
accurate broadband performance data has now made this possible."

The data revealed inconsistency amongst multinational ISPs service levels
with Orange (41% difference), Alice (44%) and Tele2(31%) brands varying
significantly in service quality from city to city.

"With technically advanced cities such as Stockholm, Helsinki and Berlin
not included in this report the actual digital divide in Europe may be more
severe," continued Johns. "Though we're pleased to be sharing our data to
date, we're keen to complete the full research necessary to publish the 'EU
Member State Internet Performance Index' in early 2009."

Epitiro will share details of the 'European City Internet Performance
Index' and its continuing research at the Broadband World Forum, Brussels,
commencing Sept 29th.

Editor Contact:
    Iain Wood
    Senior PR & Marketing Manager
    iwood@epitiro.com
    t: +44(0)870-850-6563