"Support is the one key issue that makes customers unhappy", points out Tim Johnson, Chief Executive of Point Topic. "Sales messages are mostly about speed and price, but the offerings are all becoming much the same. Now we’ve got big new entrants trying to grab customers quickly, and finding it hard to keep up with delivery and support. So service is starting to move up the scale of customer concerns very quickly. It could soon be one of the biggest factors in choosing an ISP", he says.

Satisfaction rates rarely drop below 80% on all main service aspects, but the picture varies a lot between individual ISPs. Of the major ISPs, Telewest got the lowest rating on value for money, Wanadoo and Tiscali customers were the most likely to be dissatisfied with their bills and product pricing, while AOL and Wanadoo customers were the most disappointed by download speeds.

Broadband households are generally more satisfied with their internet service than dial-up households. In particular, 52% are very satisfied with download times against only 32% of those on dial-up.