The UK's best and worst broadband providers
Which broadband providers can you rely on, and which are the ones to avoid?
When it comes to those most likely to let you down, it's worth taking a look at the Ofcom complaints figures. These are a quarterly breakdown of how many complaints per 1,000 customers each major provider attracts.
Below are the latest results.
Provider | Complaints per 1,000 customers | Complaints per 1,000 customers | Complaints per 1,000 customers | Complaints per 1,000 customers |
0.42 | 0.34 | 0.33 | 0.42 | |
0.33 | 0.27 | 0.28 | 0.26 | |
0.24 | 0.23 | 0.24 | 0.23 | |
N/A | 0.20 | 0.25 | 0.22 | |
0.09 | 0.08 | 0.06 | 0.06 | |
0.07 | 0.06 | 0.07 | 0.06 | |
Industry average | 0.19 | 0.17 | 0.17 | 0.16 |
As you can see, EE is consistently the worst provider, with complaint figures way above the industry average. Complaints mainly concerned faults, service and provision problems, complaints handling and problems changing provider.
BT, Plusnet and TalkTalk are also above average for complaints.
Which? satisfaction survey
Consumer champion Which? regularly surveys thousands of internet users to compare experiences with various different broadband providers.
The results show that smaller suppliers are dramatically upstaging some of the biggest names in the industry. Respondents who use the top four providers said that they would recommend them to their friends.
Provider | Ease of set-up | Value for money | Customer service | Technical support | Reliability | Speed | Score |
5/5 | 4/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 | 3/5 | 76% | |
5/5 | 2/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 | 3/5 | 75% | |
5/5 | 4/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 | 3/5 | 73% | |
5/5 | 4/5 | 5/5 | 4/5 | 5/5 | 3/5 | 72% | |
5/5 | 4/5 | 5/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 | 3/5 | 61% | |
4/5 | 4/5 | 5/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 | 3/5 | 56% | |
4/5 | 2/5 | 4/5 | 3/5 | 5/5 | 4/5 | 52% | |
4/5 | 4/5 | 3/5 | 2/5 | 4/5 | 3/5 | 50% | |
4/5 | 3/5 | 4/5 | 3/5 | 4/5 | 3/5 | 48% | |
4/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 2/5 | 3/5 | 2/5 | 48% | |
4/5 | 2/5 | 3/5 | 2/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 45% |
It's worth noting that not a single supplier got top marks in the 'Value for Money' or 'Speed' categories. In fact, only two providers - Virgin and Zen - managed to score four out of five for speed, which has prompted Which? to campaign for providers to actually deliver the speeds that they are promising customers at the point of purchase. Clustered at the bottom of the table with scores of 50% and below are EE, TalkTalk, Sky and BT. Virgin Media and Tesco Broadband got better, but still mediocre scores that are barely worth talking about.
John Lewis Broadband, a new entry to the Which? table, scored a hugely impressive 76% overall, with top marks on four out of six categories, while Zen Internet comes in second place, despite offering relatively poor value for money. Utility Warehouse and Plusnet both scored well too, but there's a noticeable drop off past fourth place, with the Post Office's broadband getting a score of just 61%.
Which broadband network do you use? Which have been the best and worst in your experience? Let us know your thoughts in the comment box below.
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