New research carried out by broadband comparison site, Broadband Genie, has found that speed and customer service are the most common complaints made against broadband providers by consumers in the UK.
In the study, 37 out of 100 respondents remarked on broadband speed, with 28 out of these 37 citing negative reactions. 37 out of 100 participants also commented on customer service from broadband providers, with 30 of these consumers recording negative reactions.
Comments made on other broadband features covered topics including reliability of connection (with 15 out of 20 negative responses) and technical support, recording 12 out of 14 unfavourable reactions. When it came to the cost of calling customer service and value for money, only seven and six people commented respectively, although all these responses were negative.
The results from Broadband Genie's survey differ from a recent report released by communications watchdog Ofcom. In Ofcom's report, customer service dissatisfaction was reported by just six per cent of participants. The most popular complaint, however, remained the speed of connection in Ofcom's study, with 30 per cent of respondents commenting on this.
Unreliability of connection accounted for 27 per cent of complaints, while 14 per cent were dissatisfied by broadband costs. Broadband Genie editor Chris Marling outlined the importance of addressing these customer concerns, and highlighted the challenges that broadband providers may face in the future. He said: "Fixed-line broadband is reaching saturation point in the UK and faces increasing threats to its marketing share from mobile broadband technologies.
Forecasts indicate that while the average spend per broadband user will go up, the total number of users will go down. "This means churn will become increasingly important and as speeds improve, reliability strengthens and costs fall, customer service will become a key battleground in ISPs retaining customer numbers."
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