- Over-stretched broadband and slow-loading internet has overtaken noisy neighbours and queuing for the toilet as the nation’s biggest household bugbear
- As a result the average Brit experiences “Load Rage” 138 times a year
- TalkTalk offers totally unlimited fibre to help busy households restore harmony
29th June It’s official: slow broadband is now the number one household bugbear according to new research by TalkTalk, replacing the queue for the toilet, noisy neighbours or finding hair in the plughole. With broadband overstretched by the demands of modern homes, Brits are losing their cool so much - 138 times* a year to be precise - that TalkTalk has coined the term “Load Rage” to describe this modern-day phenomenon.
The new research reveals UK homes now have as many as 14 Wi-Fi enabled devices connected at any given time, with one in three (35%) Brits spending at least four hours online at home a day. As a result a third of those asked (33%) struggle to stream films and TV and more than one in three (34%) face problems with completing their online shop, indicating that most busy households have outgrown a standard broadband connection.
Furthermore, one in six (13%) has lost out on tickets for an event while waiting for a page to load and a quarter (22%) state slow speeds have made working from home impossible. Ahead of a busy summer of sport, 21% of men admit they’ve missed a key sporting moment, such as a crucial try or goal, because of it.
Nearly half of all Brits (45%) state slow broadband as a household gripe compared to just over a third (35%) facing noisy neighbours and one in ten claim it is their partner (11%) or their son (10%) hogging the internet.
“Load Rage” is now such a common occurrence that one in five of us (21%) would be willing to give up either chocolate or alcohol if it meant we’d be guaranteed faster internet. While standard copper broadband is suitable for people with lower internet requirements, upgrading to fibre offers busier households the speed and the bandwidth to use multiple devices within the home at the same time, alleviating the need to ‘queue’ for the internet.
Laurent Kretzchmar, Head of Product at TalkTalk said: “With everything from our mobile devices and game consoles, to our TVs and even the heating thermostat all connecting to one router, the reality is that the connectivity needs of many households across the UK have surpassed traditional broadband. Just as many homes used to have to wait to make a call because someone else was using the internet, now we see households taking it in turns to do everything they want to do online.
We’ve recently seen a surge in new customers choosing fibre, because it’s important for households to be able to stream, download and upload all at the same time. While it won’t solve all our household bugbears, we know how important a speedy internet connection is to daily life.”
Unlimited fibre from TalkTalk offers a more reliable connection than standard broadband, using the same cables as other major providers including BT and Sky but at a much cheaper price. In an industry where mid-contract price hikes have become commonplace, TalkTalk is bucking the trend and offering customers the chance to fix their fibre broadband price for 12, 18 and 24 months from as little as £27 a month.
For more information visit: https://www.talktalk.co.uk/fibre
ENDS
Top 10 British household bugbears in 2017:
- Slow broadband (45%)
- Noisy neighbours (35%)
- Finding the bin is full and no one else has bothered to empty it (30%)
- Family members leaving washing up to be done (24%)
- Losing the remote control (23%)
- Hair in the shower/ sink plughole (22%)
- The toilet seat left up (19)
- Running over your data allowance because you've had to use your data instead of Wi-Fi at home (17%)
- Finding someone else has used the last of the milk (13%)
- Queueing for the bathroom (11%)
The Top 10 causes of Load Rage:
- Wi-Fi enabled calls cutting out at home due to slow broadband (20%)
- Missing crucial parts/ endings of TV shows/ films (19%)
- Video game interrupted (17%)
- Missing key moment/s in other sporting match/event (14%)
- Missing last remaining size/ item/ tickets before getting through checkout while internet shopping (13%)
- Losing work/ documents (13%)
- Missing a goal in a football game (11%)
- Falling out with family/ friends (7%)
- Missing a key message from a loved one (6%)
- Missing a work deadline (5%)
* Based on the average number of times per year that people get frustrated
Notes to Editors
Survey of 2,000 adults by Mortar in June 2017
For more information, please contact TalkTalk Press Office on talktalk@mhpc.com or 0203 128 6902.