TalkTalk, Vodafone, EE and BT attracted most UK broadband complaints in Q2 2026
Ofcom has released their latest Q2 2026 study of quarterly UK consumer telecoms and TV complaints, which reveals that TalkTalk, Vodafone, EE and BT all tied by attracting the most complaints from customers about fixed broadband services, while Sky Mobile came top of the naughty table for Pay Monthly Mobile services and EE did the same for Pay TV.
Take note that the regulator’s report only covers complaints that Ofcom itself has received and not those sent directly to an ISP, the ISPA or an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) complaints handler (i.e. Communications Ombudsman or CISAS). Ofcom does not deal with individual complaints, but they do monitor them and can take action if enough people raise a concern.
Otherwise, the results below reflect a proportion of residential subscribers (i.e. the total number of quarterly complaints per 100,000 customers per provider), which makes it easier to compare providers in a market where ISPs can vary significantly in size. But this study only covers feedback from the largest ISPs due to limited data (i.e. those with a market share of at least 1.5%).
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Just for some extra context. Ofcom’s last biannual May 2025 study of telecoms provider quality (here) revealed that the proportion of UK consumers who were satisfied with their communications services stood at 73% for landline services (down from 77% two years earlier), 84% for broadband (up from 82%) and 88% for mobile services (up from 87%).
A spokesperson for the UK ISPA told ISPreview:
“Today’s figures reflect a market that continues to improve. Broadband complaints have remained the same after a record decrease at the start of this year, and the sector’s investment of more than £40bn in gigabit-capable infrastructure means that over 90% of UK premises can now access gigabit connectivity. The broadband market continues to deliver for consumers: real-terms prices have fallen even as speeds have risen, consumers have genuine choice, with One Touch Switch making it easier than ever to move to a better deal
Where complaints remain, ISPA members are committed to resolving them quickly and to the highest standard.
ISPA will continue to work constructively with Ofcom and Government to ensure the market delivers reliable, affordable and future-proof connectivity for all.”
Fixed Line Home Broadband Complaints
In an unusual quarter, TalkTalk, Vodafone, EE and BT all attracted the most broadband complaints this quarter (each scored 7 per 100,000 customers), with over a third of them being driven by faults, service and provisioning complaints. On the flip side, Virgin Media attracted the fewest measurable complaints of all the listed providers for the first time in a long while.
| Q3 2025 | Q4 2025 | Q1 2026 | Q2 2026 | |
| BT | 9 | 8 | 7 | 7 |
| EE | 9 | 8 | 6 | 7 |
| Plusnet | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 |
| Sky Broadband | 6 | 7 | 5 | 5 |
| TalkTalk | 10 | 10 | 10 | 7 |
| Virgin Media | 7 | 5 | 6 | 4 |
| Vodafone | 10 | 11 | 8 | 7 |
| Industry Average | 8 | 7 | 6 | 6 |
A Virgin Media O2 spokesperson said:
“Two years ago, with Ofcom’s complaints data showing Virgin Media and O2 at or near the bottom of every category, we drew a line in the sand and committed to fixing our customer service for good.
While we still want to go further, today’s data shows that Virgin Media recorded the fewest proportion of complaints of any broadband provider, while also achieving further significant reductions across TV and landline. Meanwhile, just two per 100,000 O2 customers made a complaint to the regulator – a 75% reduction from two years ago.
These statistics are further evidence that our strategy has been the right one, and moving forward we’ll continue to invest in our people and in new technologies to make it easier for our customers to get the support they need.”
Fixed Line Phone Complaints
Plusnet ended up attracting the most complaints for fixed line (landline) phone services and most (37%) of those were again driven by issues with faults, service and provisioning. By comparison, Utility Warehouse attracted the fewest complaints and NOW Broadband (NOW TV) didn’t register enough data to make the table.
| Q3 2025 | Q4 2025 | Q1 2026 | Q2 2026 | |
| BT | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 |
| EE | 6 | 6 | 3 | 4 |
| NOW Broadband (NOW TV) | 5 | 6 | 4 | |
| Plusnet | 5 | 5 | 7 | 10 |
| Sky Talk (Sky Broadband) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| TalkTalk | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 |
| Utility Warehouse | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Virgin Media | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Vodafone | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Industry Average | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Mobile Complaints
Pay monthly Mobile operators continue to enjoy lower complaint levels than all of the fixed line providers, although Sky Mobile somewhat surprisingly (given their high rating in other studies) managed to attract the most moans this time around and 34% of those related to problems with switching mobile operator.
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Meanwhile Lisa Shah, Chief Operating Officer at Tesco Mobile, said they are “incredibly proud to once again be recognised as one of the industry’s least complained about mobile networks in Ofcom’s latest report.”
| Q3 2025 | Q4 2025 | Q1 2026 | Q2 2026 | |
| EE | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Giffgaff | 1 | 1 | ||
| O2 | 2 | 7 | 3 | 2 |
| Sky Mobile | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 |
| Tesco Mobile | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Three UK | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Vodafone | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| iD Mobile | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| Industry Average | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
Pay TV Complaints
Finally, EE attracted the most complaints for Pay TV services and 38% of those were due to failures with complaints handling. By comparison, TalkTalk received the fewest complaints.
| Q3 2025 | Q4 2025 | Q1 2026 | Q2 2026 | |
| EE (prev. BT) | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
| Sky TV | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| TalkTalk | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0.2 |
| Virgin Media | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Industry Average | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
Ofcom’s Consumer Complaints Report Q2 2026
https://www.ofcom.org.uk/../telecoms-and-pay-tv-complaints
Mark is a professional technology writer, IT consultant and computer engineer from Dorset (England), he also founded ISPreview in 1999 and enjoys analysing the latest telecoms and broadband developments. Find me on X (Twitter), Mastodon, Facebook, BlueSky, Threads.net and Linkedin.
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I have said it before and I will say it again, the only reason Virginmedia is not top of this list is because the people who would be complaining about VM are still stuck in their IVR trying to work out how to speak to an actual human being, to make the complaint.
From the article, Take note that the regulator’s report only covers complaints that Ofcom itself has received and not those sent directly to an ISP, the ISPA or an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) complaints handler
In other words, not complaints to the ISP,
Incorrect. You have to make a complaint to the ISP before making a further complaint to OFCOM, the ISPA or pushing your complaint into ADR.
As someone that regularly browses the BT, EE and Sky forums, I just don’t believe this. Even allowing for the fact that people only usually post to complain, I would still say Sky are highest by quite a margin.