Broadband Speeds Still Disappoint

The number of Brits who are unhappy with their broadband speeds has increased for the third year running, according to a new survey.

8,000 British broadband customers have been questioned in a consumer satisfaction survey for BroadbandChoices. Of these, 30 percent were dissatisfied with their broadband speed. This compares to 27% in 2009 and 16% in 2008.

In addition, 28 percent of those questioned were planning on changing their broadband provider because of the perceived slowness of their broadband connections. This is a large increase compared to the 17 percent of respondents who were looking to switch in 2009.

Most of the dissatisfaction centred on the discrepancy between the advertised and actual broadband speeds, however the survey did find that consumers subscribing to the superfast broadband packages, which advertise speeds of 24Mb and beyond, were less likely to complain about their download speeds. 76% of these people were content with their Internet connection.

As multimedia and video applications become more prevalent on the Internet, users may be becoming more sensitive to the connection speeds that they achieve. This is a point bourne out by Michael Phillips, product director for BroadbandChoices, who said:

“The steady increase in speed dissatisfaction is indicative that consumers are taking advantage of access to online content that places more demand on their Internet connection but as ISPs advertise – and consumers subscribe to – ever faster services, their expectations are failing to be met.”

“Service providers need to be careful since our research would show that many customers have had enough and are more willing to express that dissatisfaction by changing suppliers.”