Low Spec Bundled Routers Discourage New Broadband ISP Customers

The latest survey of 910 ISPreview.co.uk readers has found that a little over half of respondents (55.1%) get their Internet connection hardware (router) included as part of a broadband ISP bundle and over a third (38.4%) say that the quality of this kit is “very important” to their choice of provider.

Our readers might recall that we ran a related survey a few months back (here), which among other things revealed that most respondents felt as if Virgin Media and TalkTalk offered the best choice of bundled broadband router with their packages (out of the biggest ISPs). We were keen to dig into this issue in a little more depth and so ran a different study.

The new survey reveals where most respondents get their routers and also which of the primary features they tend to desire the most. Perhaps unsurprisingly the most important feature was the need for fast WiFi (including support for 5GHz), which was followed someway behind by a desire for the router to offer Gigabit LAN ports.

Where did you get your current home broadband router?
Bundled by ISP – 55.1%
Purchased separately – 42.5%
Other – 2.3%

How important is the quality of an ISPs bundled router to your choice of provider?
Very important – 38.4%
Not important – 33.7%
Average importance – 25.6%
Unsure – 2.1%

Which of these features is the most important for ISPs to include on their routers?
Fast WiFi 2.4 + 5GHz – 50.8%
Gigabit LAN Ports – 26.2%
Advanced Admin UI – 14.1%
Other – 6.3%
USB Ports – 2.3%

Clearly consumers are paying attention to the hardware that comes bundled with their broadband package, which appears to confirm our earlier hypothesis that some Internet providers could be missing out by either not promoting their existing hardware well enough (most ISPs provide very little detail about their bundled kit) or failing to offer a router that’s at least on-par with their competitors.

The more technically savvy consumers, those who can tell the difference between things like 802.11n and 802.11ac WiFi, are obviously the most likely to pay attention to a bundled router’s features and capability. Never the less it seems increasingly clear that consumers are now more generally factoring in the capability of bundled hardware with their decisions.

Admittedly many ISPs will give you a budget device, while more capable kit can always be purchased separately. Never the less a few ISPs, such as TalkTalk, EE, BT and Virgin Media, appear to have reasonably capable routers with their top-end packages. By comparison some other providers, such as Sky Broadband and PlusNet, have fallen behind (e.g. no 5GHz WiFi or Gigabit LAN).

Meanwhile this month’s new survey looks at broadband ISP produced marketing mail and asks how much related junk (posted letters) has come through your letterbox over the past few months? Vote Here.