Broadband News

Broadband connection reliability is most important

Tuesday, 29 September 2009

By Garnet Roach garnet@consumerchoices.co.uk

More than a third of consumers rate connection reliability as the most important factor when it comes to broadband, according to new research by Broadbandchoices.co.uk.

Connection reliability even beat download speeds and price to top the list as the most important factor when choosing a broadband service. Broadband speeds came in second with 30 per cent, with value for money lagging behind on with 23 per cent.

Around 7.6 million broadband customers felt disappointed by the service they receive from their ISP, the research revealed.

A massive 47 per cent of consumers said that their ISP had not lived up to its promises, with download speed disappointments topping the list of broadband bugbears, on 70 per cent. Reliability issues accounted for 32 per cent of complaints, while more than a third felt let down by the broadband provider’s customer service.

Michael Phillips, Broadbandchoices.co.uk product director, said: “Nine years after broadband was first introduced in the UK, it’s troubling to find that nearly half of broadband customers claim that the service isn’t living up to their expectations.

“The main reason for dissatisfaction is overwhelmingly because of broadband speed, demonstrating that ISPs are still falling short when it comes to meeting their customer’s expectations after advertising unattainable headline speeds in the media.

“The most disappointing findings from our research was how over half of respondents who had lodged a complaint with their ISP felt it did not reach a successful resolution,” he concluded.

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