Falling into the category of stuff we already knew comes the news that the UK is a nation of broadband ‘speed freaks’.
Confirming our long standing website statistics that stories relating to broadband speed checking get the most hits, comparison site Top I0 Broadband reveals that download speed, not cost, seems to be the primary factor in deciding broadband customer satisfaction.
Based on over 90,000 broadband speed tests captured in March 2008, the site survey shows that the top three fastest broadband providers were also the three highest rated by users.
Using their broadband speed test, the Top 10 Broadband site measures the download speed of each user’s broadband connection and asks them to rate their broadband provider out of five. Customers on faster broadband connections awarded their providers higher customer satisfaction ratings than did those with slower speeds, suggesting a nation of speed-hungry broadband users.
O2 topped the rankings in terms of both speed and customer ratings, with an average speed of 6.41Mb and customer rating of 3.82 out of 5, second and third for both speed and rating were Be and Virgin Media respectively. Tesco paled in comparison with an average download speed of 1.42Mb and average customer rating of just 2.86 out of 5 making it the slowest ISP in this study.
“This report sends an indisputable message to broadband providers to speed up or face the wrath of disappointed customers. BT’s planned infrastructure upgrade, which will provide super-fast ADSL2+ download speeds across the UK, starting at the end of the month cannot come soon enough,” says Jessica McArdle from Top 10 Broadband.
According to the data collected, the average speed of UK broadband connections is just 3.18Mb, despite this fact most ISPs advertise speeds of up to 8Mb and beyond. In light of this disparity in the UK broadband market, consumer groups are putting Ofcom under increased pressure to demand a change in broadband provider advertising, forcing providers to quote average rather then maximum speeds which most users do not achieve.
The report is based on a sample of 92,878 speed tests captured by the Top 10 Broadband speed test in March 2008. Only ISPs with over 250 speed tests captured were included in the study.
Having released a new mobile broadband comparison section, the team look forward to providing information on mobile broadband speeds in the near future.
