Broadband users in the UK face the most disruptions during peak hours, particularly at 11 am on Fridays or Wednesdays, according to a recent survey. The study pinpointed additional vulnerable time slots between 6 pm and 9 pm, 2 pm and 3 pm, and 10 am. The primary culprit for disconnections, as reported by users, is broadband provider outages, accounting for a majority of the incidents. Other contributors include power cuts (42%), planned maintenance to external cables (18%), and router issues (17%).
Nottingham takes the lead as the city most prone to outages, closely followed by Liverpool, Brighton, and Plymouth. Frustrated customers, constituting 10% of respondents, expressed a willingness to switch providers if not bound by a contract. This sentiment highlights the looming setback in the industry, as Uswitch points out the delayed launch of ‘One Touch Switch,’ originally slated for March 14, 2024. The industry faces a call to action to “urgently step up” in the coming year.
Ernest Doku, a broadband expert at Uswitch, commented on the challenges faced by broadband users in 2023. He noted, “They’ve had to put up with high inflation-linked mid-contract price rises, and while outages are hard to avoid entirely, it seems many haven’t received the reliable service they hope to expect.” The disappointment is compounded by the revelation that ‘One Touch Switch’ will miss its launch date, prompting a call for the industry to set a new target date and allocate necessary resources for a seamless switching process.
Uswitch had previously estimated that broadband outages affecting remote workers cost the UK economy £1.3 billion over the previous year. The survey also unveiled concerns, with 10% of respondents expressing distrust in their home connection and a subsequent inclination to return to the office. Additionally, 8% felt they missed job opportunities or promotions due to unreliable broadband services.
