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New research from Which? has revealed that 91% of UK broadband customers experienced service issues between December 2024 and December 2025, leaving fewer than one in ten households entirely problem-free.
The study highlights that major internet providers are routinely outperformed by smaller rivals when it comes to connection reliability, speeds and customer satisfaction. Frequent connection dropouts emerged as the most widespread problem, affecting 31% of households. Sky customers faced the highest impact for quick dropouts at 38%.
More severe disruptions heavily affect daily routines, with 23% of households reporting dropouts that disrupt remote working or video streaming. Virgin Media users experienced the highest rates of work and streaming disruptions at 30%, alongside paying some of the highest average bills. Meanwhile, Sky and Sky-owned Now Broadband tied as the worst performers for video calling reliability, with 27% of customers regularly facing issues.
General performance also remains a major frustration. Over a quarter of customers (28%) reported slow download or upload speeds, while 25% experienced very slow speeds overall. Now Broadband ranked as the worst performer for general slow speeds, affecting 35% of its subscribers, closely followed by Sky at 31%.
In stark contrast, smaller alternative providers excelled across the board. Zen Internet emerged as a leading performer, with 89% of its customers rarely experiencing work or streaming disruptions and 70% avoiding outages lasting longer than an hour. Furthermore, Zen Internet and Plusnet tied as top performers for video calling reliability.
Natalie Hitchins, Which? Head of Home Products and Services, said: “Many of the biggest names in broadband have been letting customers down for too long. Delaying improvements and failing to offer a better service will only drive customers to companies that treat them better.”
With competitive deals widely available, Which? is strongly encouraging out-of-contract customers to shop around and switch to smaller, more reliable providers.
Table of results
|
Best provider (based on the proportion that said they never or rarely experienced the issue) |
Best provider (based on the proportion that said they never experienced the issue) |
Worst provider (based on the proportion that said they regularly experienced the issue) |
|
|
Frequent connection drop-outs that are quickly resolved |
Zen Internet (85%) |
Zen Internet (51%) |
Sky (38%) |
|
Connection slow to download or upload files |
Zen Internet (83%) |
Zen Internet (44%) |
Now Broadband (35%) |
|
Very slow speeds |
Zen Internet (87%) |
Zen Internet (59%) |
Sky (31%) |
|
Frequent connection drop-outs that affect work, streaming etc. |
Zen Internet (89%) |
Zen Internet (62%) |
Virgin Media (30%) |
|
Problems with video calling |
Plusnet, Zen Internet (88%) |
Zen Internet (57%) |
Sky (27%) Now Broadband (27%) |
|
Left without connection for more than an hour |
Zen Internet (96%) |
Zen Internet (70%) |
Virgin Media (22%) |
Based on an online survey of 5,235 people in December 2025 and January 2026. Worst provider is based on the net proportion of customers who said they had experienced the issue sometimes, frequently or all of the time in the past 12 months – figure is given in brackets.
Results from Which?’s Annual Broadband Survey
Based on an online survey of 5,235 members of the public in December 2025 and January 2026. Sample sizes in brackets; we need at least 50 to include a result.
Broadband stick or twist – Which?’s advice on whether to switch or haggle
Switch if:
1, You want to save money. Our research routinely shows that switching providers is the best way to save money
2, You’re sick of bad service. If you experience a dodgy connection or poor customer service, move on. A new provider can mean better service – technical or personal.
3, You want fast speeds. Given the pace of the full fibre roll-out, there’s a decent chance that faster connections are available in your area from a wider range of providers.
Haggle if:
1, You love your provider. If you can’t fault your provider, don’t feel the need to ditch it. Negotiate when your contract ends to ensure you’re getting the best deal.
2, You want an upgrade. If you want a faster speed, better router or additional services such as pay TV, then simply ask your provider what they can do for you.
3, You don’t have alternatives. Not everybody has multiple providers to choose from. If you’re in that boat, it’s essential to stay on top of your contract and renegotiate regularly.
Right of Replies:
A Virgin Media spokesperson said: “We’re investing millions of pounds every day to give our customers great services with Ofcom’s latest official data showing Virgin Media is now the least-complained-about broadband provider, with complaints at record lows.
“Real-world independent data from Opensignal ranks Virgin Media top across every national broadband category – including download speed, upload speed, consistent quality, video experience and reliability – showing that in reality our customers benefit from the UK’s best broadband services.”
Sky and Now Broadband did not comment
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Chris Price
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