Scottish broadband service looking a bit dreich, says UK outage study
- Reference: 1773230885
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2026/03/11/uk_broadband_outage_data/
- Source link:
The internet comparison site says it analyzed 3,200 subscriber contracts around the country, and bases its league table on the number of outages lasting more than 48 hours that customers experience for every £100 ($134) of contract value.
Users in Scotland encounter 0.67 service disruptions, the most for every "ton" of cash they spend, whereas billpayers in Yorkshire and the Humber have to deal with just 0.15 outages for every hundred in outlay.
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There is also a city league table [2]on Broadband Genie's website , showing that people in Glasgow are the worst off of all, seeing 0.94 outages, followed by Belfast on 0.57 and London on 0.53.
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The city with the lowest level is Gloucester, where customers experience 0.02 outages for every £100 they spend, with Wolverhampton and Wrexham not far behind on 0.07 each.
Broadband Genie has also compiled a service provider league table of shame based on its data, ranking operators by the number of outages for every £100 of customer cash.
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It places Cuckoo Broadband in the position of least reliable, with 1.48 outages, while customers of BT may well have to pick their jaw off the floor at the news that Britain's former state-owned telco monopoly has the fewest, at 0.17 outages per £100.
[6]Ofcom's grumble-o-meter lights up for EE, TalkTalk, Vodafone
[7]Brit broadband grilling descends into farce over targets and definitions
[8]UK plans right for flat owners to demand gigabit broadband
[9]Landlord quirks leave thousands of flats stuck in the broadband slow lane
It is followed by TalkTalk and Plusnet, which both use Openreach, BT's infrastructure arm, to deliver their services, while Virgin Media (yes, really) is next with a score of 0.29.
The comparison site reminds customers that an Ofcom-governed [10]automatic compensation scheme means that broadband and landline customers get money back from their provider in the event of a service disruption.
However, this only kicks in once the service has been non-functioning for two full working days, and offers just £9.98 ($13.41) for each day it remains unrepaired afterwards.
Broadband Genie's resident expert, Alex Tofts, says the number of outages customers are experiencing after spending hundreds of pounds on their broadband is unacceptable.
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"We always recommend that consumers check independent reviews, especially in their area, as provider reliability can vary by location. At the very least, ensure their provider is signed up to Ofcom's automatic compensation scheme," he said. ®
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[1] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2abGft766gh3-K6hnYE2twQAAABc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[2] https://www.broadband.co.uk/broadband/help/who-pays-the-most-for-outages
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44abGft766gh3-K6hnYE2twQAAABc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33abGft766gh3-K6hnYE2twQAAABc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44abGft766gh3-K6hnYE2twQAAABc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2026/02/21/ofcom_q3_2025_complaints/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2025/12/18/broadband_telecoms_committee/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2025/12/17/flat_leaseholder_access_to_gigabit/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2025/12/01/apartment_blocks_fiber_uk/
[10] https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/service-quality/automatic-compensation-need-know
[11] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33abGft766gh3-K6hnYE2twQAAABc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[12] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Remote communities/islands and Openreach "engineers"
It's probably worse in remote communities and islands where there seems to be one "engineer" who keeps disconnecting lines at the cabinet, presumably whilst trying to connect someone else, and it then takes weeks to explain to Openreach via Plusnet/BT and have it resolved. And then it happens again every so often, presumably because someone else got disconnected in order to re-connect your original service, and so on. And it takes months of pursuing Plusnet/BT to get part of the compensation due for the loss of service and then you give up because it's not worth the time. Go on, ask me how I know this.
Re: Remote communities/islands and Openreach "engineers"
I did some contracting on one of the remote islands. We needed a pair of 2Mb lines from BT to a remote site. The local BT engineer was a great guy; helpful, understood the requirements, sorted the design out, got the contract signed (harder than it sounds). Then the fun started. Openreach were crap throughout the installation and whenever they were on site I had to have one of the local team with them all the time to make sure they dug in the right place, put the pits in the right place, respected access, etc. The BT guy was most apologetic but said that once BT handed off the contract to Openreach (they were part of BT at the time) then they were as unaccountable as they were when dealing with Joe Public. It was impossible to get dates for when stuff was going to be done. I wasn't allowed to deal directly with Openreach and by the time the BT guy had passed on my questions and got answers back it was usually too late.
Re: Remote communities/islands and Openreach "engineers"
Openreach (they were part of BT at the time)
They still are. Both Openreach and BT Consumer/Business are part of [1]BT Group .
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BT_Group#Divisions
Re: Remote communities/islands and Openreach "engineers"
Or like one open reach engineer admitted "off the record" that open reach engineers will do this (and mark the exchange and cabs) to "punish" customers who are "difficult"at times leaving the line disconnected for weeks under spurious excuses, that management are WELL aware this happens and will turn a blind eye and deny this has happened.....
Re: Compensation Get Out Clauses
It's possible to benefit from BT's incompetence. My internet went down and was fixed in a couple of days but their system paid me out for 16 days of outage. I tried to tell them but there isn't an option in the automated fault reporting process for "You over-compensated me and I'd like to return it" so I gave up.
Re: Compensation Get Out Clauses
I wouldn't worry about that. BT will make sure you get their promised 16 days of outages - and then some.
Is there any part of the planet where the broadband isn't rubbish ?
I would have thought specifying outages per 100 GBP might have risk invoking national stereotypes in the case of Scotland.
After all a 100 punds is a 100 punds. 0.67 outages per £100 so one outages then ? ;)
Curious why Glasgow topped 0.94 — do the hard men regularly give the cabinets a good kickin' ?
Mine's a Hunting Stuart.
Re: Is there any part of the planet where the broadband isn't rubbish ?
"Curious why Glasgow topped 0.94 — do the hard men regularly give the cabinets a good kickin' ?"
If you ever visited Glasgow, you wouldn't need to ask that question. Aside from the local population's recreational use those the cabinets, the Glasgow climate is a hostile environment for any open-air electronics and street furniture.
Per £100?
So if BT regularly charge more than their competitors, they get a better score?
Compensation Get Out Clauses
However, this only kicks in once the service has been non-functioning for two full working days, and offers just £9.98 ($13.41) for each day it remains unrepaired afterwards.
And for Virgin, you have to call and register that your broadband is affected, even if the automated service confirms that your service is affected - stay on the line and press the appropriapate key to register it. And if it comes back as part of testing? The clock resets and you have to re-register that it's down again.
Bitter? Not me...