Broadband rage – symptom of a slow, patchy and expensive service
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| People paying substantial sums for their broadband and still getting lacklustre service are understandably angry. Photograph: Imagehit Inc/ Alamy |
A home broadband service costs up to £35 a month, with consumers typically tied into 12-month contracts, but latest tests from communications regulator Ofcom show that the typical speed varies dramatically around the UK. It averages 26.4Mbps (megabits per second) in urban areas, 17.9Mbps in suburban areas and 9.9Mbps in the countryside. Many consumers, particularly those in rural and hard-to-reach locations, are stuck on speeds of less than 2Mbps.
Gillian Guy, chief executive of Citizens Advice, says: "People who are paying substantial sums for their broadband and still getting patchy internet service and lacklustre connection speeds are understandably angry.
"Since April last year there has been a 27% jump in the number of people coming in to seek help about internet and broadband issues. People living in rural areas can find unreliable internet a particular struggle. It is vital that value for money with internet costs is not an urban luxury so that everyone can freely access the online market."
The government has plans to ensure superfast broadband, typically with speeds of 30Mbps and above, reaches 95% of UK homes and businesses by 2017 after extending its deadline by two years, but some areas have little prospect of being upgraded to the new fibre optic technology in the short term.
"Installation is expensive and takes a long time," says Dominic Baliszewski, telecoms expert at broadbandchoices.co.uk. "Providers are upgrading areas that are already relatively well-connected first before turning their attention to more isolated regions."
Take Paul Bellchambers, a 55-year-old chef from Moulsford, Oxfordshire, who has been battling an average speed of 1.5Mbps in the morning, and 0.9Mbps at other times of the day with BT.
"This is just about enough for email but I wouldn't think about much else, and it's incredibly frustrating, " he says. "There's not a lot we can do as everyone around here has the same problem – it's a rural location where the infrastructure is meant to be upgraded at some stage over the next few years, but we don't have a date for this, and it's hard to believe it'll happen after so long with poor speeds.
"We are typically paying around £50 per month for our landline and internet when extra calls are included or extra broadband used," Bellchambers adds. He would like to switch provider, "but there are few options where I live, and anyway the BT contract keeps rolling over".
His is one of a number of complaints from readers facing problems with their broadband providers. Ofcom's latest report on complaints in the broadband industry named Orange/EE as the most complained about provider between July and September 2013, for the fifth consecutive quarter. The service has received double the average number of complaints from users, standing at 0.45 complaints per 1,000 customers, up from 0.32 the previous quarter. BT was the second most complained about broadband provider, again showing a significant rise over the previous quarter.
A third of people who call their broadband provider do so to complain, according to Ofcom, with speeds remaining the biggest issue for customers, followed by problems with customer service and switching packages.
Baliszewski points out that most broadband connections are still delivered through the "grindingly slow" old copper telephone network. He says: "This technology is decades old and subject to numerous shortcomings, the main one being that if your house is a long distance from the local exchange, the strength of your connection weakens, giving you a slow broadband speed.
"The old network can also experience a massive slowdown if lots of people are online – it's a little like 10 people trying to get through one door at the same time."
TACTICS TO TRY
If you are suffering from slow broadband here are some steps that might help.
■ Test the speed There are many websites that can conduct a test instantly - put "broadband speed checker" into a search engine. If you were told you would get a higher speed from your provider and you're connecting wirelessly, try plugging the Ethernet cable into your router. Asking your provider for a new router may also solve the problem, and be careful where you place it. "Try to keep your router off the floor and away from TV monitors, stereo speakers and halogen lights," says Marie-Louise Abretti, broadband expert at uSwitch.com. If your provider's technicians can't find a fault, but you were told that the speed would be faster, ask to switch to another package or make a formal complaint.
■ Check access to a fibre optic network If you haven't already done so, you could upgrade to a fibre package if this is available in your area. Prices have fallen in recent years, making it possible to get superfast broadband from under £10 a month (excluding line rental), and if your speed isn't up to scratch you may be able to switch to one of these packages. If it's not available, check with your local council to see if it is coming soon. "Almost two-thirds of Britons can now get super-fast broadband, but a third still don't know whether or not it's available in their area, and 48% say it's simply too expensive for them," says Abretti.
■ Local broadband initiatives If the council says there are no plans for fibre to be installed in your area, ask if there are any local broadband initiatives, such as B4RN (broadband for the rural north), where communities are getting together to raise funds themselves and through council grants to meet the cost of installing fibre optic networks.
■ Additional equipment Aside from a new router, a BT iPlate, costing about £5, is another option to boost speeds. This is also known as a broadband accelerator, and connects to your phone socket to reduce potential interference there that could be limiting speeds. In some cases, it can boost broadband speed by as much as 60%. You may also want to buy a signal repeater from electrical retailers if you live in a large house and find speeds are slower in some rooms than others.
■ Switching provider If you are outside of your contract term you can switch provider. Most broadband customers will need a MAC code to do this, and your existing provider has to issue this within five days of your request. Make sure you know when your broadband contract expires - typically after 12 months - as companies will not remind you. USwitch is campaigning for the introduction of annual broadband statements to highlight when contracts end, but it's worth noting the date in your diary. To find the best broadband service for you, use a comparison site such as simplifydigital.co.uk, broadband.co.uk or broadbandchoices.co.uk.
■ Make a complaint Consumers stuck in a broadband contract have little way out without facing an exit penalty. However, if you remain unhappy with your service you should complain First, go to your provider and follow its complaints procedure first.
"You will have to make a strong case, proving you are not receiving a reasonable level of the service for which you are paying. This will mean keeping records of poor service, speeds, and other problems and, if needed, taking them to the ombudsman to escalate your complaint," says Dominic Baliszewski of broadbandchoices.co.uk. "There should be some service level agreed in the contracts. If you can show the service is negligible, they have to let you cancel."
You can take the issue to one of the two ombudsman services, depending on which deals with your particular provider: Ombudsman Services: Communications, or Communications and Communications and Internet Services Adjudication Scheme (CISAS). You can find details at
consumers.ofcom.org.uk.
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