UK ISP Switches Rise as Consumers Seek Cheaper and Faster Broadband

LONDON, BIOT - Jan. 3, 2019 - PRLog -- A new survey of 1,380 people in the United Kingdom, which was conducted by consumer telecoms information site ISPreview.co.uk, has found that the main reason why most respondents switched broadband ISP in 2018 were to save money (30%) or get access to faster speeds (25%) and 18% hoped for a generally better quality of service.

Overall 32% of respondents confirmed they had switched ISP during 2018 (up from 26% in 2017), but looking forward only 23% said they would definitely expect to switch provider in 2019.

Question - Did you switch ISP in 2018?
No - 68%
Yes - 32%

Question - Will you switch in 2019?
Maybe - 42%
No - 35%
Yes - 23%

Question - What was the main reason for your last ISP switch?
Save Money - 30%
Faster Speeds - 25%
Better Quality - 18%
Other - 14%
House Move - 8%
Service Complaint - 5%

Respondents were also asked to identify which of the largest broadband ISPs they perceived to have improved the most during 2018. Overall 18% picked BT and they were followed by Virgin Media (10%), Vodafone (10%), Sky Broadband (8%) and in last place was TalkTalk (6%). Meanwhile 47% said they had no idea which provider had improved the most.

Mark Jackson, ISPreview.co.uk's Editor-in-Chief, said: "Broadly speaking not much has changed over previous years, with service speed, price and quality predictably continuing to be the main reasons why most people choose to leave their existing ISP. Meanwhile most others still prefer to stick with their existing provider rather than chase a cheaper deal, often because they're satisfied with the service or are wary of moving."

"However Ofcom will need to keep a close eye on the rapid growth in alternative network platforms, particularly the new generation of full fibre (FTTP) ISPs, where switching service can be more complicated and may result in some downtime due to the physical separation between networks. At present the regulator's switching rules only apply to Openreach and KCOM based ISPs, which could leave some of the above consumers with less protection during a switch."

"Going forward we also expect that Ofcom's plan to introduce 'end of contract' notification letters could help to encourage more switching within the market, although this won't be implemented until later in 2019. As a result we might not be able to fully appreciate the impact of this until 2020."

* Online poll conducted with 1,380 UK internet connected readers of the https://www.ispreview.co.uk website between 16th November 2018 and 2nd January 2019.