One in four Britons 'unhappy' with internet connection, research finds

According to a coalition made up of leading ISP companies, one in four Britons are unhappy with their internet service.

Fix Britain’s Internet group, which consists of Sky, TalkTalk, Vodafone and the Federation of Communication Services (FCS), has called for Britons to vent their exasperation over the poor internet connection they receive. Figures released by this coalition also reveal that one in eight of people feel that the internet provided to them is getting worse and at least two-thirds of people have had their internet connection slowed or disconnect at least once over a monthly period.

Current research has shown that a slow broadband has left 56 per cent of people not being able to perform simple tasks such as load websites and call people on Skype. Others have had issues with streaming platforms and, more importantly, many face issues with being able to work from home due to a slow connection.

The research found that some four million Britons had experienced stress and anxiety due to a slow internet connection. One in four people polled compared the pain of having slow internet with that of waiting for delayed trains or buses. One in seven said that the stress caused by the internet is like being sat next to screaming children on a long haul flight. Respondents also admitted to getting angry and emotional over the internet.

Neuroscientist Dr David Lewis commented on the findings: “The tortoise-like speed of a poor broadband connection doesn’t just waste our time, it can also be detrimental to our physical and mental health.

"When internet connections slow to a crawl in the middle of completing an online task, we experience significant increases in blood pressure and heart rate, impaired reasoning and decision-making, growing anxiety, intense frustration and even incidents of ‘computer rage'."

As a result, the Fix Britain’s Internet group has urged disgruntled people to contact Ofcom and make British Internet faster and more reliable.

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