- 22.4 million people were hit by outages, with telecoms providers the most common cause
- uSwitch encourages customers to request compensation as providers face growing scrutiny
What happened: US and UK broadband outages reveal provider and infrastructure weaknesses
More than two in five UK broadband users have suffered at least one outage in the past 12 months, according to new survey data released by uSwitch. The comparison site found that 41% of adults — roughly 22.4 million people — experienced a broadband disruption, collectively losing 238.7 million hours of connectivity. The economic impact, calculated based on lost working hours, totals approximately $1.75 billion.
While adverse weather and faulty in-home equipment contributed to the problem, outages caused directly by broadband providers topped the list. 37% of respondents blamed their ISP for service loss, followed by 33% citing power cuts, often linked to severe storms across the UK. Another 27% reported router failures, a reminder that consumer hardware remains a common point of failure.
Other factors included external cable damage or routine engineering work, electromagnetic interference from household devices, and disconnections initiated by providers. Notably, 8% of respondents said they lost service because of poor coordination between providers when switching — a figure likely to draw attention from Ofcom, which has repeatedly warned operators to improve switching processes.
The results come as operators such as Openreach prepare to raise prices on some copper broadband products, increasing pressure on providers to justify value as outages erode customer confidence.
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Why it’s important
The findings highlight a growing gap between the UK’s ambition for nationwide gigabit connectivity and the lived experience of broadband customers. With millions working from home at least part-time, even short outages can knock productivity, increase household stress, and push consumers to reconsider their provider.
uSwitch is encouraging customers hit by outages to seek compensation, noting that many are unaware that they qualify under Ofcom’s automatic compensation scheme, which requires providers to offer payments for prolonged service loss. As consumer willingness to switch grows and digital expectations rise, ISPs may face both financial and reputational consequences if reliability does not improve.
