Comparison website finds that 77% of UK businesses are satisfied with broadband but downtime remains a problem

The Broadband Genie annual business broadband report published today found that 1.5 million businesses in the UK (23% of all businesses) encounter broadband issues at least once a week, costing them on average £904 for every hour broadband is down. The broadband comparison website surveyed 500 firms from across the UK and also found that nearly half of businesses have no dedicated staff responsible for resolving issues with a broadband connection despite expenses costing between £1000 and £5000 per hour for 16% of businesses.

With regard to broadband satisfaction levels (speed, reliability and value), the survey found that the East Midlands had the highest average satisfaction (84%), with the North East coming out worst (67%) and London (75%) also falling just below the 77% average. Whilst half of businesses have never switched their broadband providers, 58% said they were satisfied with their current service, whilst 4% said they didn’t know how to switch, 24% judged the process too difficult, and 20% are not switching because of the risk of losing service. Broadband provider Zen came out as the top rated provider, scoring highest for customer service, technical support and value. Virgin Media Business was rated the best for speed, while KCOM was ranked as the most reliable.

Interestingly, the report also highlights the success of the Broadband Connection Voucher Scheme, a Government initiative to help businesses upgrade their connectivity with vouchers up to £3000. A Government survey found that the vast majority of the 55,000 SMEs that took advantage of the scheme, reported improvements in efficiency and effectiveness of employees, as well as improvements in the speed and reliability of delivering goods and services. Government’s return on investment was found to equate £5 for every £1 spent. Despite its evident success, the scheme was closed with no further funding allocated to it.

Matthew Evans, CEO of the Broadband Stakeholder Group said: “The Broadband Genie survey shows that internet connectivity is helping to drive productivity and economic growth. But with that, comes the requirement for connectivity to be of high quality and resilience.

For too long we have focused solely on speed, which is just one factor in quality of experience. We need to increase understanding of the impact on interactions throughout the telecoms value chain to ensure that businesses are being well served and are able to continue to take advantage of internet applications.???