It has been revealed in a recent report that broadband speed satisfaction has fallen for the third year running in the UK, and this has resulted in more people switching their broadband package.

For many people the speed that they get with their broadband service package is of the utmost importance, but with the UK ranking fairly low on the global speed tables at the moment many people are unable to get the broadband speeds that they desire from their service. In fact, according to recent reports broadband speed satisfaction in the UK has fallen for the third year in a row, with consumers becoming increasingly dissatisfied with the speeds that they are getting from their providers.

Data shows that a rising number of people having been switching their broadband providers as a result of the poor speeds that they are getting through their existing provider or package, and it is thought that a third of consumers are now being driven to changing their broadband provider as a result of their dissatisfaction with the speeds that they are getting.

The report claims that consumer satisfaction in many other areas of broadband services has increased, but whilst Internet Service Providers are often advertising impressive ‘up to’ speeds the actual speeds that many of their customers are getting are actually very disappointing. Eight thousand users were polled in a recent survey and almost one third expressed dissatisfaction with their broadband speeds. Last year this figure was twenty seven percent, and in 2008 only sixteen percent were disappointed with their speeds.

One industry official said: “The steady increase in speed dissatisfaction is indicative that consumers are taking advantage of access to online content that places more demand on their internet connection but as ISPs advertise – and consumers subscribe to – ever faster services, their expectations are failing to be met. Service providers need to be careful since our research would show that many customers have had enough and are more willing to express that dissatisfaction by changing suppliers. Broadband users unsure of their connection should use a broadband speed tester and if their service consistently falls short of expectations, should seriously consider their options including switching to a 24Mb+ package.”

Source – Broadband Choices