Ofcom publishes 2020 study on quality of UK mobile and broadband ISPs
UK telecoms regulator Ofcom has published its 2020 survey of service quality, call wait times, complaint response and install times at the UK’s largest broadband ISPs and mobile operators.
The report is mostly based on data gathered by Ofcom during January (meaning the survey doesn’t reflect the impact of COVID-19) from a variety of sources, including consumer surveys, complaints and statistics obtained directly from ISPs and mobile operators.
According to the report, 85 per cent of broadband consumers say they are satisfied with their service, slightly up from 83 per cent in 2019. The highest braodband satisfaction levels were among Plusnet customers, at 93 per cent, while TalkTalk held the lowest satisfaction score of 78 per cent.
EE scored 88 per cent, BT and Sky Broadband both registered 86 per cent customer satisfaction and Virgin Media scored 85 per cent. Plusnet also registered the greatest increase from last year, with satisfaction jumping seven percentage points from 86 per cent in 2019.
On average, 53 per cent of customers said they were satisfied with how their complaints were handled by their broadband provide. EE scored the best in this regard, at 66 percent, while TalkTalk held the lowest score of 44 per cent.
Average call waiting time was 2 minutes 10 seconds. EE was again rated the best in this category, with average waiting time of 26 seconds, while Plusnet had an average time of 3 minutes 48 and Virgin Media 4 minutes 26.
The average Ofcom complaints per 100,000 customers was 52. EE had an average of 22 complaints per 100,000, while Sky Broadband was rated the best with 21 complaints. Plusnet had an average of 100 complaints per 100,000, while Vodafone scored the worst with 115 per 100,000.
Ofcom Consumer Group Director Lindsey Fussell said of the report: “Checking the quality of a phone or broadband provider’s customer service can be the difference between you signing up to a company that keeps you connected, or one that falls short. Our research helps people to easily compare how providers perform on customer service, so they can choose the one that’s best for them.”
