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October 2023 - Telecommunications

A quarter of UK adults have been left without internet for almost a full week: A survey of adults in the UK asking them about their experiences with internet outages has revealed that 25% have been left without connectivity for almost a week.

When asked what had caused their broadband to drop out, 35% cited a broadband outage due to their provider, while 22% said their router was not working, and 13% said it was due to routine maintenance to external cables external at their property. 

The research by USwitch polled 2,000 UK adults, also finding that of those who had lost connectivity for almost a week, just over a fifth (22%) received compensation from their Internet Service Provider (ISP), with almost half not being aware that Ofcom rules entitle them to compensation. 

When asked about how they felt when an outage occurred, three-quarters said they found it frustrating, with only queue-jumping (82%) and rude customer service (82%) cited as more annoying by customers. Broadband service outages were found to be more frustrating than roadworks (72%) and delays to public transport (70%), according to the research. 

The survey also highlighted the regions of the UK that had experienced the worst outages, with Southampton coming top with an average of 67 hours spent without connection. Newcastle (57 hours) and Birmingham (47 hours) were second and third, with Liverpool and Nottingham, making up the top five (44 hours and 33 hours respectively). 

Uswitch estimated that more than 21.7 million people faced broadband outages of 3 or more hours in the latest survey period, which was twice as many as in the previous year's survey (11 million). It also asserted that this prevented 15% of the respondents who were surveyed from working, and due to this, lost productivity cost the UK economy £2 billion. 

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