Which broadband suppliers are doing the best?

As the market for personal and business broadband gets ever more competitive, the leading UK broadband comparison site has announced the results of its first annual broadband awards.

Using data collected from over 300,000 speed tests on its website, the Top 10 Broadband team rigorously tested the UK's broadband packages against a wide range of criteria to award categories such as fastest broadband, customer satisfaction and broadband bundle. The awards therefore offer recognition to broadband providers that have achieved excellence in their field.

Broadband Winners

O2 won the Fastest Broadband and Customer Satisfaction awards, with an average download speed of 6.128Mb and customer rating of 3.84 out of 5.

UK broadband customers increasingly seek the flexibility to connect to the internet from their laptops both wirelessly at home and via mobile broadband when on the move. The Wireless Broadband award went to BT as their wireless router, the BT HomeHub 2.0, doubles the wireless reach of most routers and facilitates digital TV.

‘3’ were the clear winner in the mobile broadband category, with their expansive range of packages offering a variety of download allowance and laptop options. With mobile broadband sales increasing by 50% month-on-month this is the fastest-moving and most progressive sector of the broadband market.

The Top 10 Broadband Awards and winners:

Fastest Broadband: O2
Customer Satisfaction: O2
Mobile Broadband: 3
Wireless Broadband: BT
Broadband Bundle: Virgin Media
Value Broadband: TalkTalk
Short-Contract Broadband: AOL Broadband
Small ISP: PlusNet

Paying Too Much?

Another site, Broadband Expert, reports that most people are paying too much for broadband access.

The research carried out using data from 70,000 broadband customers (collected between Jan and June 2008) showed that on average UK broadband customers pay £16.98 per month for an 8Mbps broadband package, despite some providers offering a similar package for under £10 a month. The survey also uncovered that BT and Demon customers pay the most, whilst Sky and O2 customers pay the least.

Further Broadband Resources

You can find out more about broadband for your business (as well as standard personal packages) in further Bytestart guides:

Business Broadband - Finding the right supplier

WiFi and Wireless Internet - Our beginner's guide

Mobile Broadband - Just how fast is it?

Broadband and your business - Use the broadband revolution to your advantage