Broadband subscribers in Scotland suffer the most outages in the UK, according to Broadband Genie, with customers of BT typically experiencing the fewest.
The internet comparison site says it analyzed 3,200 subscriber contracts around the country, and bases its league table on the number of outages lasting more than 48 hours that customers experience for every £100 ($134) of contract value.
Users in Scotland encounter 0.67 service disruptions, the most for every “ton” of cash they spend, whereas billpayers in Yorkshire and the Humber have to deal with just 0.15 outages for every hundred in outlay.
There is also a city league table on Broadband Genie’s website, showing that people in Glasgow are the worst off of all, seeing 0.94 outages, followed by Belfast on 0.57 and London on 0.53.
The city with the lowest level is Gloucester, where customers experience 0.02 outages for every £100 they spend, with Wolverhampton and Wrexham not far behind on 0.07 each.
Broadband Genie has also compiled a service provider league table of shame based on its data, ranking operators by the number of outages for every £100 of customer cash.
It places Cuckoo Broadband in the position of least reliable, with 1.48 outages, while customers of BT may well have to pick their jaw off the floor at the news that Britain’s former state-owned telco monopoly has the fewest, at 0.17 outages per £100.
It is followed by TalkTalk and Plusnet, which both use Openreach, BT’s infrastructure arm, to deliver their services, while Virgin Media (yes, really) is next with a score of 0.29.
The comparison site reminds customers that an Ofcom-governed automatic compensation scheme means that broadband and landline customers get money back from their provider in the event of a service disruption.
However, this only kicks in once the service has been non-functioning for two full working days, and offers just £9.98 ($13.41) for each day it remains unrepaired afterwards.
Broadband Genie’s resident expert, Alex Tofts, says the number of outages customers are experiencing after spending hundreds of pounds on their broadband is unacceptable.
“We always recommend that consumers check independent reviews, especially in their area, as provider reliability can vary by location. At the very least, ensure their provider is signed up to Ofcom’s automatic compensation scheme,” he said. ®