UK Adoption of Superfast Broadband Slowed by Availability Concerns

LONDON - Feb. 27, 2017 - PRLog -- The Government of the United Kingdom estimates that over 91% of the country's premises now have access to a "superfast broadband" (i.e. faster than 24 Megabits per second) connection, but a new online survey of 1,970 local Internet users (conducted between 12th January and 23th February 2017) by consumer information site ISPreview.co.uk has suggested that confusion over availability, price and other issues may be hampering take-up.

According to the survey, some 46% of respondents have so far managed to get a "superfast" connection and the majority (70%) of those said they were happy with its performance (i.e. 30% weren't happy). The study also asked respondents who hadn't upgraded to highlight their primary reason for not doing so.

For those that don't have "superfast broadband", why haven't you upgraded?

* It's not available to me 51%
* The service is too expensive 20%
* I see no need for it 9%
* I want even faster speeds! 7%
* Other 9%
* I'm stuck in an old contract 2%
* It confuses me 2%

Finally, the study asked how many times people had switched ISP during the past 5 years, which revealed that 42% have not switched, while 30% have only switched once, 15% have switched twice, 9% have switched three times and just 4% have switched four times or more.

"It's interesting to note how 51% said superfast connectivity wasn't available to them, which is despite UK coverage reaching over 91%. One of the problems with availability is that sometimes a faster network might exist but this could easily be overlooked because people might not be aware of just how much choice really exists in their area," said the Founder of http://www.ISPreview.co.uk , Mark Jackson.

"A common mistake is to assume that broadband is all part of one network and as a result some people may give up the search for a faster connection after a single failed availability check with one ISP. However the UK is home to a patchwork of various different network platforms and ISPs."

"For example, BT, Sky and TalkTalk (plus many others) all predominantly use Openreach's fixed line infrastructure, while Virgin Media has their own independent cable network and it's a similar story for others like B4RN, Hyperoptic, Gigaclear and so forth. Not to mention the huge variety of different Fixed Wireless and Satellite ISPs, as well as 4G Mobile Broadband operators."

"Suffice to say that consumers should cast their net a bit wider and run availability checks with a variety of ISPs," concluded Jackson.