Despite adverts for improved speeds and headline-grabbing “free broadband”
promotions, many consumers feel they are getting a raw deal when they
venture online. When you are faced with sporadic reliability and poor
customer service, choosing the right broadband internet service provider
(ISP) is chancy and difficult.
To discover which ISPs are living up to their promises and which are not,
InGear teamed up with Computing Which? and Thinkbroadband.com, an
independent internet monitor. We used data from 13,500 Computing Which?
subscribers who were also broadband users. They rated their ISP for customer
service and reliability of connection, along with online and telephone
technical support. The smaller (and, it has to be said, pricier) ISPs
excelled here, with Waitrose and Zen Internet earning satisfaction scores of
more than 80%. At the other end of the scale, Virgin Media and Talk Talk
scraped in at less than 50% – while Orange managed just 36%.
But perhaps the ISPs were struggling to give good service because they were
concentrating on delivering high-speed broadband? Sadly not. Thinkbroadband
checked how fast ISPs were – and found that few consumers were getting the
full “up to 8Mbps” service they were paying for.
Like mpg figures for cars and estimated servings from wine bottles, official
broadband speeds rarely stand up in the real world. Thinkbroadband found
that at peak times in the evenings, UK consumers using the eight ISPs on
test enjoyed an average speed of just 2.3Mbps – less than a third of the
target figure.
Broadband speeds decrease the further you live from a telephone exchange, and
the busier the exchange is. But some providers are better than others.
Thinkbroadband found that the fastest traditional ISP on test (Zen Internet
at 3.1Mbps) was more than twice as fast as the slowest (Tiscali at 1.5Mbps).
Virgin Media, which uses fibreoptic cables instead of ADSL phone lines, was
faster still (3.8Mbps). The fastest service, Be (www.bethere.co.uk,
not tested), uses the latest ADSL2+ technology to give average speeds of
5.5Mbps at peak times, but is available only to users living close to
digital exchanges.
High-speed broadband is more important as we start to download large files
(such as movies) or watch the latest internet TV “catchup” services. But
even the fastest broadband services may not let you watch all the online TV
and films you want. This is because most ISPs cap the amount of data you can
receive per month – look for the download limits in the individual reviews.
They are doing this because streaming video requires huge amounts of data
(about 0.6GB an hour). According to PlusNet, a popular ISP, about 5% of its
capacity is being used by the BBC’s iPlayer software – that’s before you add
in similar services from Sky, Channel 4 and ITV, or high-definition movie
downloads to your Xbox.
Exceed the limit imposed by your ISP and you’ll suffer extra charges, ranging
from 30p per GB at BT to a whopping £2 per GB at Waitrose.
Don’t think that ISPs without limits will let you download to your heart’s
content. All the ISPs have a “fair use” policy (often vague) that allows
them to restrict speeds – or withhold their service – if they think your use
is excessive, especially at busy times. And all say they exclude illegal
activity, such as sharing copyrighted movies and music.
Broadband ISPs are increasingly keen to sign you up to more than just internet
access. Orange, Tiscali, Talk Talk and Virgin require you to move your phone
line rental from BT to get their best deals. We’ve split the cost of this
from their tariffs, to give a level playing field.
When you’re choosing an ISP, don’t forget to take into account set-up fees and
the length of your contract. Except where mentioned, all the ISPs here
charge for technical help over the phone. All offer web mail with basic
antispam and antivirus security, and some (Orange, Talk Talk, Virgin,
Waitrose and Zen) give you web space to make your own website.
JARGON BUSTER
ADSL (Asymmetric digital subscriber line) The most common type of
broadband connection, using your home phone line
Download caps A typical monthly download limit of 5GB equates to about
120 hours of surfing each week
Mbps (Megabits per second) A measure of broadband speed. ADSL downloads
are usually 2-3Mbps, while upload speeds are about 0.3Mbps
Router Plugs into your phone line and computer to share the broadband
connection
CABLE TALK
Virgin Media Broadband L and Phone
Four stars
www.virginmedia.com -
£11.50pm, no limits
High speeds and no caps are a downloader’s dream
Just over half the UK population can access Virgin Media’s fibreoptic cable
network for internet, phone and TV. Despite being the fastest on test
already, this 4Mbps service is upgrading free to 10Mbps (with a free
wireless router) over the coming months. There’s also a zippy 20Mbps
offering (from £20 per month) for power users. On the downside, customer
service and reliability were rated only average by Computing Which? readers.
You’ll also need to move your phone line rental to Virgin and pay a £30
set-up fee.
CHAIN REACTION
Waitrose
Four stars
www.waitrose.com - £19pm with
5GB limit
Feelgood broadband that is worth checking out
Despite Waitrose’s conservative high street image, the supermarket chain’s
internet service was pretty whizzy. The supplied router is easy to set up
(wi-fi costs £25 extra) and technical support is both free to call and was
rated extremely helpful by Computing Which?. The 5GB monthly limit and
average speed (as measured in tests) will suit lighter users only,
especially as extra GBs cost a pricey £2 each. A nice touch is that all
Waitrose’s broadband profits go to a customer-chosen charity.
SPECIALIST SERVICE
Zen Internet 8000 Lite
Four stars
www.zen.co.uk - £18pm with 2GB
limit
Minimalist marvel with excellent support
Last year’s Test Bench winner does it again, with an efficient, no-frills
service that earned top marks for customer service, (UK-based) technical
support and reliability. There’s no set-up fee if you’re swapping from
another ISP and the contract has just one month’s notice, although Zen is
the only company that doesn’t include a router. And while the broadband
itself is very fast, a meagre 2GB limit means that heavy downloaders might
need a more expensive package (such as a 20GB limit for £25 per month).
TOTALLY AVERAGE
BT Total Broadband Option 1
Three stars
www.bt.com - £18pm with 5GB limit
A variety of frills cannot excuse average service
BT’s comprehensive wireless broadband package comes with a host of digital
extras, including some free use of its nationwide network of wireless
hotspots, online storage to back up data, and on-demand TV through BT Vision
(£30 extra). Reliability, customer service and technical help were rated as
average by Computing Which?, and speed was below average in our tests. The
download limit increases to 6GB in May, but charges to exceed that will also
go up. Overall, a solidly mediocre experience.
TRIPLE PLAYER
Sky Broadband See Speak Surf
Three stars
www.sky.com - £26pm with 40GB
limit, plus TV
Good value for TV addicts but unreliable
This “triple play” deal from Sky includes wireless broadband, some free
evening and weekend phone calls, and a Sky satellite dish and box letting
you watch more than 100 television channels. Download speeds were good and
upload speeds were the best on test, making this a sensible choice if you
upload or share big media files. However, Computing Which? readers rated
reliability below average, and technical help was even worse. There’s also a
£30 set-up fee. News Corporation, the parent company of The Sunday Times,
has a 39% stake in Sky.
DOUBLE TROUBLE
Talk Talk Broadband
Two stars
www.talktalk.co.uk - £5.89pm
with 40GB limit
Cheap cheap but also weak weak
You’ll need to pay a £30 installation fee and shift your line rental to Talk
Talk (not available nationwide) to get this low-priced deal. A large 40GB
limit will cheer downloaders, but upgrading to a wi-fi router costs another
£30 and it’s way below average for customer service and (admittedly free)
technical help. It’s also the worst on test for reliability, according to
Computing Which?. Speed was below par and the minimum contract is a hefty 18
months, showing that price isn’t everything.
SLOWLY DOES IT
Tiscali Broadband Option 1
Two stars
www.tiscali.co.uk - £3.99pm
with no limit
Cheapest on test – and the slowest
Another cheap deal that requires you to move your line rental (and pay £30 to
set up), Tiscali at least includes a wireless router and scraps download
limits. That might seem irrelevant, though, as Tiscali was also the slowest
ISP, with an average download speed (1,483Kbps) less than half that of
Virgin Media or Zen Internet. Connections were rated average for reliability
and about the same for customer service and technical support. Tiscali is a
better budget choice than Talk Talk, but only just.
LACKING IN JUICE
One stars
Orange Home Max www.orange.co.uk -
£13pm with no limit
Underperformer with little to commend
Moving your phone line rental to Orange for its broadband service means
putting all your digital eggs into one threadbare basket. The wireless
broadband package has no download limits but was rated below average for
reliability. Downloading was very sluggish (only just better than Tiscali)
and uploading was the slowest on test. Customer service got bottom marks, as
did the costly (50p per minute) technical support. What’s worse, you’ll be
locked into this shaky service for longer than most ISPs on test – 18
months.
