Smaller broadband providers up speed war ante
Michael Phillips, product director, Broadbandchoices.co.uk said: "Today's announcement by Plusnet of its new ‘up to' 20Mb speed broadband service follows hot on the heels of Orange and Zen Internet. This is a clear indication that smaller broadband providers are not going to be muscled out by the big players when it comes to speed."Increasing the performance of their customers' internet packages is a positive step but ISPs must remember that speed is not the only issue close to peoples' hearts. Our recent survey of 4,000 broadband users revealed that connection reliability was the most important consideration for them with connection speed and value for money following closely behind.
"Customers are desperate for services that deliver across all areas - reliability; speed; price and customer service are all really important. Whilst Plusnet and Zen regularly come near the top in satisfaction surveys and awards, Orange has historically languished near the bottom.
"Orange has been losing broadband customers of late and we would hope that the increase in speed and changes to its price plans will be the first step, of many, to improve its services and so reverse this trend.
"Plusnet was highly commended in every category of the Broadbandchoices.co.uk 2009 Customer Satisfaction Awards and Zen was nominated as Which? Best Buy 2009 for the forth year running.
"It's worth remembering that ISPs, such as O2 and BE, have offered services with up to 20Mb and 24Mb respectively for some time now. But with a flood of new providers now coming to market with similar performance deals, there has never been a better time to compare packages.
"Broadband users considering switching to Plusnet's new 20mb service should apply via Broadbandchoices.co.uk which has an exclusive online offer of 4 months free subscription.
"Remember that some ISPs charge different amounts depending on location so you should always check offers in your area by using an Ofcom accredited comparison calculator."