Smaller broadband ISPs outshine larger rivals

The UK's smaller ISPs are outperforming their largest rivals when it comes to customer satisfaction, according to research published in Which  magazine this week.

The consumer rights group surveyed around 10,000 broadband users who used one of 23 different ISPs. It found that customer satisfaction differed greatly between providers.

Metronet, a small UK ISP based in Harrow, topped the table with 91 percent of users saying they were 'very satisfied' with their broadband service. Bringing up the rear was NTL, with just 19 percent of users giving it the top rating.

Metronet sells a range of pay-as-you-go broadband service. The entry-level product starts at £11.75 a month for 400MB of data, with every additional MB costing 0.235p. This price is capped at £22.75 a month.

"Its pricing is complex, but customers gave it top marks for value," said Which.

Eight ISPs achieved ratings of 70 percent or higher and were awarded a 'Best Buy' by Which — Metronet, Freedom 2 Surf, Zen Internet, Nildram, Waitrose, Eclipse, PlusNet and Force 9.

None of these ISPs could be classified as particularly large players in the UK market, unlike Wanadoo, Tiscali, AOL, BT and NTL; none of which managed even 40 percent on Which's measure of extreme satisfaction.

According to Andrew Ferguson of ADSLGuide, a Web site that rates UK ISPs, smaller providers typically score higher for customer satisfaction.

"One possibility is that the smaller providers may attract the type of user who understands some of the technical issues, and thus support can be simpler for day-to-day faults, where as with the larger providers you are dealing with a massed public service, and the support staff will be more script based," said Ferguson.

"One other problem for the larger ISPs is the lack of people with a good technical understanding of ADSL, and the ability to help customers too. The technical staff will often be in second or third line support, and staff retention can be a big issue, as many will find more challenging and often better paid jobs elsewhere," Ferguson added.

In recent weeks, many Bulldog customers have complained that they have received a poor service and have been unable to contact the company. Which found that 36 percent of Bulldog's customers said they were very satisfied with the ISP's offering.