Tuesday, 23 February 2010
By Garnet Roach garnet@consumerchoices.co.uk
Broadband providers have improved in every area, except download speeds and the clarity of their bills, according to the latest Broadbandchoices.co.uk satisfaction survey.
Customer satisfaction with the speed of their broadband packages has dropped year on year, with a massive 10% decrease since 2008, the study revealed.
However, broadband reliability, customer support and the speed of activation all saw an increase since the last Broadbandchoices.co.uk customer satisfaction survey.
O2 Broadband (www.O2.co.uk) topped the list of providers, coming first in every category and taking the award for overall customer satisfaction.
Plusnet Broadband (www.Plus.net) and Sky Broadband (www.Sky.com) were highly commended.
Sky also won in the bundled providers categories, where customers take more than one service from their ISP, followed by Virgin Media (www.VirginMedia.com) and TalkTalk Broadband (www.TalkTalk.co.uk), which were both highly commended.
Michael Phillips, Broadbandchoices.co.uk product director, said: “Broadband providers have clearly made a concerted effort to improve their services as the market has neared saturation point and competition for new customers has increased.
“They have improved customer services and are making an effort to get new customers online faster. However, many consumers are still unhappy with their broadband speeds.
“Our broadband needs have changed as a nation - over 120 million programmes watched on the BBC iPlayer in January alone - and increasing numbers of people are using their internet for more bandwidth-hungry applications, demanding faster, more reliable broadband speeds.”
| Plusnet | Value + Talk Evening & Weekend | Broadband + Phone - Essentials | The All Rounder + Evening and Weekend calls (O2 mobile customers only) | Broadband: 30Mb + Phone M | Broadband Unlimited + Talk Freetime (Existing Sky Customers) | |||||
| Monthly charge | £3.24 for 12 months £25 cashback Ends 29th May | £3.25 (for 12 months)£25 Tesco voucherOnline exclusiveEnds Soon | £6.25 for 12 months Half-price broadband Ends Soon | £7.25 (for 6 months) Free installation Ends soon £40 Credit | £7.50 6 months free Ends Soon | ||||
| Speed (up to) | 16Mb | 14Mb | 16Mb | 30Mb | 14Mb | ||||
| Usage limit | 10GB | 40GB | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | ||||
| Contract length | 12 months | 12 months | 12 months | 18 months | 12 months | ||||
Call Plusnet 0808 189 1376 | Call TalkTalk on 0800 049 7843 | Call O2 on 0800 954 1408 | Call Virgin Media on 0808 189 0514 | Call Sky on 0844 241 0582 |
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