The 2011 uSwitch broadband customer satisfaction report, which is based upon responses from 7,500 broadband users, has rated PlusNet the surprise overall winner after it came top in 4 out of the 11 categories with 90% of its customers satisfied. Curiously O2 UK, which had been top last year and has since been pushed back into 2nd place, managed to win in the 7 other categories with 89% overall customer satisfaction.

Sadly AOL UK (67%) came BOTTOM in 7 out of the 11 categories, which as usual only tested the largest providers in the market and ignored smaller players. AOL's parent, TalkTalk UK, followed on 70% and then BT with 74%. According to the survey, AOL's customers experienced average speeds of 5Mbps.


uSwitch's own data also revealed that the average broadband ISP speed in the UK has increased from 5.7Mbps to 7.4Mbps – a rise of 30%. This is significantly above Ofcom's recent figure of 6.2Mbps. In addition, consumers now pay an average of £14.64 per month for their broadband, compared with £13.95 in 2010 (a 5% rise in bills).

Best Overall Broadband ISP for Customer Satisfaction
1. PlusNet (90%)
2. O2 (89%)
3. Sky Broadband (81%)
4. Virgin Media (79%)
5. Orange (75%)
6. BT (74%)
7. TalkTalk (70%)
8. AOL UK (67%)

The results somewhat mirror J.D. Power's survey from earlier today (here) and hint at signs of a possibly recovery for Orange UK. By contrast TalkTalk UK, which is still struggling with the aftershocks of Tiscali's acquisition and several slaps from Ofcom, was the biggest faller from 5th to 7th position (-7% overall satisfaction).

One year ago some 62% of customers were satisfied with their customer service, which has dropped by 2% to 60%. When asked which aspects of service were most important, 61% said reliability of connection, 57% said speed, 54% said value for money and 11% said customer support. However the latter usually tends to become more important when you actually need to access it.