Major broadband providers outperformed by smaller rivals in annual survey
20 March 2025, 00:04
Zen Internet earned the highest ratings across the board and a customer score of 77% in the annual Which? survey.
Major broadband providers including BT, Sky, TalkTalk and Virgin Media have been outperformed by smaller rivals in an annual customer satisfaction survey.
Which? has advised unhappy customers to shop around for better service, value for money and more reliable connections ahead of price hikes coming into effect next month after the “big four” all featured in the bottom half of the consumer group’s survey.
Virgin Media achieved a customer score of 60%, sending it to the bottom of the table alongside Now Broadband.
Virgin Media customers face an increase of £3.50 a month – adding £42 a year to their bill – from April, while the company is also being investigated by Ofcom for its complaints handling and the difficulties faced by customers when cancelling contracts.
A Virgin Media spokeswoman said: “Complaints to Ofcom about Virgin Media were at their lowest levels since 2017 at the end of last year, while 92% of complaints raised in the past three months were resolved within 24 hours, and call transfers and waiting times have fallen significantly.
“These green shoots are a more accurate reflection of the improvements we’re making than Which?’s survey, which represents just 0.01% of our customer base, and shows that while we can’t fix every issue overnight, our strategy – investing almost £1 million a day into customer-facing areas of the business, simplifying systems and processes, upskilling staff and removing persistent pain points – is delivering real improvements for our customers.”
Now Broadband fared particularly poorly for connection speed and ease of contact.
BT, Sky and TalkTalk received scores of 64%, 62% and 61% respectively.
BT and Sky customers raised concerns about value for money, while TalkTalk and Sky received poor ratings for connection speed.
Zen Internet, which is not imposing mid-contract price hikes, earned the highest ratings across the board and a customer score of 77%, with nine in 10 customers saying they would recommend it.
Plusnet, which is owned by the same company as BT, achieved second place with a score of 73%.
Utility Warehouse scored 72%, with a third of customers rating its customer service as excellent.
Which? home products and services editor Natalie Hitchins said: “Our research shows that smaller providers are outshining the biggest broadband firms across the board.
“Many smaller providers offer better customer service, more reliable connections and fixed contracts or lower annual price rises – giving their customers more certainty about what their monthly bill will look like over the course of their contract.
“Any broadband customers who are nearing the end of their contract and are unhappy with their current provider, or could stand to make savings, should not hesitate to vote with their feet and move to a different provider.”
A BT spokesman said: “We provide our customers with an ultra-reliable and fast broadband, with speeds up to 900 Mbps. We’re committed to keeping our customers connected and providing the best possible customer service with all of our calls being handled in the UK and Ireland.
“In the last 12 months, our Ofcom complaints data has steadily been below or at industry average and our customer satisfaction scores continue to rise.”
Zen Internet chief executive Richard Tang said: “Broadband is an essential service, and customers shouldn’t feel stuck with poor service – there are better options out there.
“If people start voting with their feet, it could push the industry as a whole to raise its game.”
