Villagers in Hambleden, near Henley-on-Thames in Buckinghamshire have been left without the satellite broadband service they use to get online.

No cause for the problem has yet been specified by the provider, which occurred at a local base station, reports ISPReview.

Customers poured scorn on the way that the situation has been handled, with one irate individual posting a damning tirade earlier in the week

"Avanti's customer service is appalling," the subscriber told the broadband news provider. "My community is currently suffering from a problem at the base station which, we are informed, cannot be fixed until Friday at the earliest (five-working days from now)."

"This is a totally unacceptable position for those in the village who rely on internet connectivity to run home based business or who study from home."

Avanti plans to launch its first satellite into orbit later this year providing broadband services to over 300,000 people.