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Uswitch.com broadband awards 2014: Virgin Media voted best provider

The results of the Uswitch.com Broadband Awardsare in, revealing what Britons really think of their broadband providers – from speeds and reliability, to customer service and support. The winners, as voted for by 3,000 broadband customers and a judging panel of experts, were announced at last night’s awards at Café de Paris in London.

  • Headliners: Virgin Media wins three awards including Best Broadband Provider, while Sky wins four, including Best Customer Benefits

  • Speediest: Virgin takes gong for Fastest Home Broadband while EE wins Best Mobile Broadband

  • Money-saving: cash-strapped internet users vote Plusnet Best Value Home Broadband

  • Best bundles: BT gets Best Broadband & Home Phone, while Sky wins Best Broadband, TV & Home Phone

  • Top-notch: Plusnet trumps the competition in the Best Customer Service category, while Virgin Media has Best Customer Rated Broadband in UK

  • On the box: Judges say Sky is Best TV Provider and Sky Go is the Best TV Streaming Service

  • Pioneering: BT Sport wins a judges’ award for innovation.

Virgin and Sky emerged victorious from Uswitch.com’s annual Broadband Awards, winning seven out of 12 categories between them. Virgin scooped three gongs on the night, including the most coveted Best Broadband Provider title for a second year running. To win this top prize, which was based on customer votes and consumer data from Uswitch.com, Virgin beat off competition from runners-up Plusnet and Sky.

Sky took home four awards includingBest TV Provider,Best Broadband, TV & Home Phone and Best Customer Benefits – for perks like on-demand service Sky Go and backstage event access. Sky Go also scooped the award for Best TV Streaming Service from a broadband provider – as voted by Uswitch’s inimitable judging panel. But it was BT Sport that took home the award for Best Broadband Innovation, with the judges particularly impressed with how the provider has brought sport to a wider audience.

Plusnet also has plenty to be proud of. Despite being far smaller than the other broadband giants that took home gongs last night, the provider was recognised as having the Best Customer Service and the Best Value Home Broadband deals.

As bundles become more popular for their simplicity and cost-savings, Sky was singled out for offering the Best Broadband, TV & Home Phone deals, with stiff competition from runners up Virgin and BT. BT beat runners up Virgin and TalkTalk to scoop Best Broadband & Home Phone.

When it comes to broadband, speed is king and last night, Virgin Media took gold for Fastest Broadband for a third year running. This category was based on the results of millions of consumer speed tests conducted using Uswitch.com’s StreetStats speed testing tool. Virgin Media’s super-fast fibre optic network helped it to achieve an award-winning average download speed of 26.9 Mbps in 2013, beating runners up BT and TalkTalk.

Streets ahead in the UK rollout of 4G after a nine-month head start, EE won an award for Fastest Mobile Broadband in recognition of providing average mobile internet speeds of 5.1 Mbps last year. Also based on Uswitch.com’s StreetStats data was the category for Best Customer Rated Broadband. Reviews from over three million broadband customers over the past year revealed that Virgin users were the happiest with their service, closely followed by BT and Sky customers.

Marie-Louise Abretti, broadband expert at Uswitch.com, comments: “Virgin Media and Sky have stolen the show, coming away as the big winners. But with most categories hotly contested, it’s all to play for. And, while there is plenty to celebrate within British broadband – there is more to be done with speed, service and cost still top concerns for bill-payers.

“As providers battle ever more fiercely for a bigger bite of the market, and find new ways of setting themselves apart, Brits can take advantage of lower-priced deals, more competitive perks and higher quality service. While the big boys took home the lion’s share of awards, Plusnet’s two awards are proof that smaller providers shouldn’t be ruled out if you’re not getting the service you want from the broadband giants.

“In fact the market has never been so competitive, and the New Year is the perfect time to spring clean your finances and make sure you’re getting the best broadband deal for you.”

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Best Customer Rated Broadband

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Uswitch StreetStats Data

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Virgin, BT, Sky

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Virgin

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Fastest Broadband

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Uswitch StreetStats Data

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Virgin, BT, TalkTalk

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Virgin

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Best Mobile Broadband

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Uswitch StreetStats Data

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EE, Three, Vodafone

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EE

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Best Broadband & Home Phone

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Consumer Survey

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Virgin, BT, TalkTalk

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BT

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Best Broadband, TV & Home Phone

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Consumer Survey

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Virgin, Sky, BT

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Sky

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Best Value Home Broadband

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Consumer Survey

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Plusnet, TalkTalk, EE

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Plusnet

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Best Customer Service

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Consumer Survey

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Plusnet, Sky, Virgin

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Plusnet

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Best Customer Benefits

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Consumer Survey

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Sky, BT, EE

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Sky

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Best Broadband Provider

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Consumer Survey and Uswitch StreetStats Data

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Virgin, Sky, Plusnet

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Virgin

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Best TV Provider

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Judging Panel

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Sky, BT, Virgin

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Sky

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Best TV Streaming Service

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Judging Panel

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Sky Go, Sky Extra, BT Sport App

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Sky Go

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Best Broadband Innovation

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Judging Panel

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BT Sport, Now TV, EE 4G

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BT Sport

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You can view the full results HERE

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Katherine Moss

Phone: 020 3021 5893

Email: katherine.moss@uswitch.com

Twitter: @uswitchPR

Notes to editors

  1. Research carried out online in November 2013 by OnePoll amongst 3000 broadband decision makers or bill payers. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+). Analysis conducted January 2014. Specific reporting of results published for suppliers that received 50 or more responses. For categories judged by the customer service survey, a minimum of 140 respondents was required for a provider to be shortlisted.

  2. The panel of experts included independent journalists and Uswitch experts – contact us for a full list

  3. For categories determined by Uswitch’s broadband speed testing and customer rating tool, StreetStats, providers needed a minimum of 3% of the total tests for the category to be shortlisted.

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