UK broadband customers name favourite providers

A record number of over 10,000 people have given their opinion of their broadband provider in the latest Broadband Customer Satisfaction Survey from BroadbandChoices.co.uk.

The survey, which is conducted every six months, aims to find out how UK broadband users view the services and costs of their internet providers.

Standing out in the spring 2009 survey:

Less than half of broadband users are satisfied with the customer support they receive.

More than half of broadband users are considering changing their ISP in the next six months as the credit crunch bites.

And the winners are…

O2 is king of the ISP hill, winning all six key satisfaction categories as well as being voted best overall provider.

Virgin Media is the most improved ISP overall, compared to the autumn 2008 survey.

Sky is best ISP overall for bundled services.

Virgin Media is winning the bundled services race for speed, voted fastest service for bundled packages.

TalkTalk provides consumers with best value for money for bundled services.

Michael Phillips, product director of BroadbandChoices.co.uk said: “We were overwhelmed by the responses to our survey, the sheer number of which indicates that broadband is coming under more scrutiny than ever before from consumers. The size of the survey this spring meant that we could confidently report results across a larger number of ISPs and also break out results on bundled services for the first time since these are now such an important part of the market.

“It’s impressive to see that O2 scored an average of 86% for very/fairly satisfied across all categories. They were streets ahead of the other ISPs who averaged 60%. For bundled packages, Sky took the top position overall but Virgin Media is close on its heels and manages to rank highest for download times with its cable network.

“Our findings indicate that more than 46% of customers have already switched provider. As competition in the broadband market increases, it’s encouraging to see that consumers now recognise that there are viable alternatives. They can use our Ofcom accredited comparison service and findings from research like this to refine their choice and make the right switching decision with confidence.

“The key reason for considering switching is overwhelmingly due to the frustration of not receiving the speed performance users have been promised. As underlined in recent Ofcom tests, it’s clear that ISPs fall well-short of adequately managing their customers’ expectations in this respect.”

Phillips adds: “Every time we do our survey we get inundated with customers bemoaning the after sales support they receive. This spring’s survey further underlines this with customer service coming bottom across the board in terms of satisfaction.”