A MAP reveals the best and worst cities for broadband outages across the UK.
A good internet connection is increasingly important with more people working from home since the pandemic.
But new research from Broadband Genie has revealed some cities can’t be relied on for an uninterrupted connection.
The price comparison website found Belfast, London and Glasgow were the worst for outages out of a list of 29 locations last year.
Just over 50%, 45% and 36% of broadband users reported experiencing an outage in these respective areas.
Meanwhile, 36%, 33% and 37% of households with internet in Brighton and Hove, Coventry and Chelmsford, suffered an outage.
Aberdeen, Portsmouth, Bristol and Plymouth were three other major cities that fared badly in Broadband Genie’s rankings.
Just under 40%, 36%, 37% and 29% of broadband users surveyed said they had experienced an outage last year.
At the other end of the list, users ranked Gloucester the best city for a lack of internet outages.
Last year, only 8% of households there said they saw their internet cut out following a technical glitch.
Wolverhampton, Worcester, Oxford and Sheffield all came in the top five too.
Just 14%, 17%, 16% and 17% broadband users in these respective cities experienced an outage in 2024.
The figures reveal that out of the list of 29 cities, over 15 saw at least a quarter of broadband customers experiencing an outage last year.
Peter Ames, broadband expert at Broadband Genie, said: “It’s pretty shocking that more 15 cities in the UK saw a quarter of broadband customers experiencing outages last year.
“If this level of service was delivered by other essential utilities, serious questions would be asked.
He added: “For customers, when choosing a broadband provider, reliability is just as important to consider as price, especially if you work from home.
How to save money on broadband
Consumer reporter Sam Walker reveals some top tips for cutting your broadband costs.
- Compare deals – use price comparison websites like Uswitch, Compare the Market or MoneySuperMarket to find the best deals on the market based on your needs.
- Consider a social tariff – these discounted tariffs are for those on certain benefits like Universal Credit. They can save you £100s.
- Haggle for a better deal – if you’re coming to the end of your contract and your provider is offering you a poor deal, consider haggling for a better price. You can find deals on price comparison sites and use them as a benchmark of how much you should be paying.
- Bundle services together – sometimes providers offer discounted packages for combined TV and broadband packages.
“If your connection goes down, you could end up losing work or paying through the nose to hotspot from your mobile data, none of which is ideal.”
It comes after a string of broadband outages this month, with Community Fibre, Virgin Media and BT all experiencing issues.
Check if you’re owed compensation
You may be able to get compensation following an internet outage if your provider is part of Ofcom‘s automatic compensation scheme.
If it is, you receive an initial £9.76 if the service is not fixed two full working days after you report it, and then £9.76 for each full day it is still not fixed after that.
This is the list of providers that are currently part of the scheme:
- BT
- EE
- Hyperoptic
- Plusnet
- Sky (including NOW Broadband)
- TalkTalk
- Utility Warehouse
- Virgin Media
- Vodafone
- Zen Internet
As well as compensation for outages, you are also eligible for money for missed engineer appointments.
If an engineer doesn’t turn up for a scheduled appointment, or it is cancelled with less than 24 hours’ notice, you can get £30.49.
Ofcom’s compensation scheme also applies to households who suffer landline outages.
If your provider isn’t part of Ofcom’s scheme, you might still be able to get compensation directly through your firm.
Broaband Genie says there are four things you should do:
- Check your provider’s terms and conditions.
- Complain to your provider via customer service and explain how the outage has affected you. It may offer you compensation as as goodwill gesture.
- Escalate the complaint to an independent ombudsman like the Communications Ombudsman or CISAS, which is run by Ofcom.
- Consider switching providers if outages are frequent and your provider isn’t great at offering compensation.
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