CHOICE finds 62% of Australians faced issues with their internet in the past six months, with Telstra ranked last for value for money
CHOICE’s internet satisfaction survey has found Australians have been plagued by disconnections and drop-outs, connection issues and slow speeds over the past six months, with consumers least satisfied with Telstra and Dodo.
“Our satisfaction survey asks ADSL, Cable and NBN customers to rate their internet retailer on connection speed, reliability, value for money, bill clarity, ease of set-up, customer support and technical support,” says CHOICE CEO Alan Kirkland.
Top Issues
- 62% of Australians faced issues with their internet service provider in the past six months.
- 81% of Australians who said they had a problem mentioned speed and reliability related issues with their provider (slow speeds, disconnections/drop outs, connection issues).
- 83% of Australians on ADSL/ADSL2 or 2+/Cable who said they had a problem mentioned issues relating to speed, variable performance and connections.
- 76% of Australians on the NBN who said they had a problem mentioned slow speeds or disconnections/drop outs.
“Although internet service providers such as Dodo might spruik ‘superfast broadband’ in reality most Aussies who reported an issue with the NBN complained about slow speeds and connection issues‘, Mr Kirkland says.
Overall satisfaction (CHOICE performance scores)
Overall satisfaction (CHOICE performance scores)
- Internode (81), iiNet (78), iPrimus (75), Optus (75) and TPG (74) all performed above average.
- Telstra (70) and Dodo (69) ranked below average:
- For Telstra, value for money (66), customer support (69) and technical support (69) dragged its score down.
- For Dodo, connection speed (67), having a reliable connection (69), customer support (66) and technical support (67) dragged its score down.
“To make matters worse, some of the slowest providers also scored poorly when it comes to value for money and customer and technical support,” says Mr Kirkland.
“Telstra’s poor ranking on value for money is not surprising given CHOICE’s investigation last year, which found consumers aid up to a 92% price premium to access Telstra’s network.
“Although some higher cost telcos point to the value of their offer coming from an array of bundled extras, like content or a landline phone, our research found bundled services were the least important factor for selecting an internet service provider.
“Overwhelmingly, consumers place importance on a reliable (95%) and speedy (94%) connection and value for money (94%).
“In line with this, we have joined forces with technology testing company Enex TestLab to gather information on actual broadband speeds experienced by consumers across the country.
“If you have an NBN connection and would like to join our project to monitor service provider broadband speeds, we want to hear from you,” Mr Kirkland says.
Consumers can sign up to be part of the project today, with CHOICE and Enex selecting participants based on postcode to ensure national coverage, here: choice.com.au/broadband
For further information on the ISP satisfaction survey, visit: choice.com.au/ispsurvey
Media contact: For interviews with CHOICE or Enex TestLab, please contact Tom Godfrey, CHOICE, Head of Media and Spokesperson: 0430 172 669
“Telstra’s poor ranking on value for money is not surprising given CHOICE’s investigation last year, which found consumers aid up to a 92% price premium to access Telstra’s network.
“Although some higher cost telcos point to the value of their offer coming from an array of bundled extras, like content or a landline phone, our research found bundled services were the least important factor for selecting an internet service provider.
“Overwhelmingly, consumers place importance on a reliable (95%) and speedy (94%) connection and value for money (94%).
“In line with this, we have joined forces with technology testing company Enex TestLab to gather information on actual broadband speeds experienced by consumers across the country.
“If you have an NBN connection and would like to join our project to monitor service provider broadband speeds, we want to hear from you,” Mr Kirkland says.
Consumers can sign up to be part of the project today, with CHOICE and Enex selecting participants based on postcode to ensure national coverage, here: choice.com.au/broadband
For further information on the ISP satisfaction survey, visit: choice.com.au/ispsurvey
Media contact: For interviews with CHOICE or Enex TestLab, please contact Tom Godfrey, CHOICE, Head of Media and Spokesperson: 0430 172 669