The communications regulator, Ofcom UK, has today released its latest annual 2011 Consumer Experience report. The study reveals that consumer satisfaction with fixed line broadband ISP services is unchanged at 80%, although fewer consumers experienced slower than expected broadband speeds (30% in 2011, down from 35% in 2010).

Satisfaction with the speed of Mobile Broadband services has also improved, moving from 70% in 2009 to 80% now. Ofcom believes that these changes can be attributed to both service improvements (e.g. superfast broadband, network upgrades etc.) and consumers having "more realistic expectations" of the speed that a service can actually deliver.

Ofcom's enhanced 2010 Broadband Speed Code of Practice (here) and the new Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) guidance on related marketing (here), the latter of which is due to be enforced from 1st April 2012, both appear to be playing a part.


Elsewhere 78% of UK households have internet access, which is up from 76% in 2010 and also equal to the level of home PC ownership (laptop PC 59% vs desktop PC 44%). The majority (86%) use fixed line broadband ISP connections as their main source of internet connectivity, while 11% prefer Mobile Broadband (unchanged over 2010).

The average monthly spend on communications services (in real terms) has also fallen from £96.42 in 2009 to £93.61 at the end of 2010, which according to Ofcom is a "reflection of the shift towards bundled broadband services" (bundles are usually better value). Indeed fixed internet and mobile services fuelled the decline, while other areas (TV, radio, fixed phone line) remained almost static.

Sadly Ofcom warns that the actual act of switching between bundled providers is still "more difficult than switching other services individually". Indeed this is one of the regulators priority areas for 2012. New broadband migration processes and rules are also on the way (here).


Just 15% of standalone broadband switchers said it had been difficult to change ISP (rising to 23% for those with a bundle), although only 4% of consumers actually did it (10% for bundles). The full report contains a lot more detail and can be read below.

Ofcom's 2011 Consumer Experience Report (PDF)
http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/research/consumer-experience/tce-11/ce-research-2011.pdf