30% of Superfast Broadband Users Aren’t Happy with its Performance

A new online survey of 1,970 ISPreview.co.uk readers has found that 41.9% haven’t switched ISP in the past 5 years. Meanwhile 46% have a “superfast broadband” (24Mbps+) service but 29.6% of those aren’t happy with its speed and others can’t get the service due to issues of cost, desire or availability.

The main reason given for why those who don’t yet connect via a “superfast” service have not upgraded is because they claim that it isn’t available to them (50.6%), which is despite the Government estimating that 92% of UK premises should now be within reach.

Elsewhere 20.1% said they hadn’t upgraded because the service is too expensive, while 9.4% saw no need for a “superfast” speed and 7% wanted something much faster than “superfast” before they upgraded. At this point it’s worth remembering that 24Mbps is only the starting point for “superfast“, while “ultrafast” speeds arguably start from 100Mbps and up.

How many times have you switched ISP in the past 5 years?
Never – 41.9%
Once – 29.8%
Twice – 15.2%
Three Times – 9.1%
Four Times+ – 3.8%

If you have superfast broadband speeds (24Mbps+), are you happy with the performance?
Yes 70.4%
No 29.6%

If you don’t have “superfast”, why haven’t you upgraded?
It’s not available 50.6%
Too expensive 20.1%
I see no need 9.4%
I want even faster! 7%
Other 8.8%
Stuck in old contract 2.4%
It confuses me 1.8%

The question of availability is an interesting one since most premises should be within reach, although it’s possible that we might be seeing a higher proportion of votes from poorly served rural areas and this could be weighing on the results (many people have already upgraded and those that are left are thus more likely to be in this camp).

Similarly a 2014 survey by Broadband Delivery UK also found that 30% of homes covered by a 24Mbps+ capable network didn’t know it was available to them and 50% of adults weren’t even sure what it was. A combination of these factors may be at work above.

Another common mistake that a fair few people make is to assume that broadband is all part of one network and as a result some people may abandon the search for a faster connection after a single failed availability check. The UK is of course home to a patchwork of various different network platforms and ISPs, thus consumers could easily miss out on a faster connection by simply failing to cast their net a little wider.

For example, BT, Sky and TalkTalk (plus many others) all predominantly use Openreach’s fixed line infrastructure, but Virgin Media has their own independent cable network and it’s a similar story for others like B4RN, Hyperoptic, Gigaclear and so forth. Not to mention the huge variety of different Fixed Wireless and Satellite ISPs, as well as 4G Mobile Broadband operators.

Meanwhile this month’s new survey asks whether you’ve ever saved money by negotiating a lower price with your broadband ISP or mobile operator? Vote Here.