Over half a million homes are losing around 4Mbps of broadband speed due to poor in-home set ups.
The research conducted by TalkTalk, shows that over the course of a year British homes will leak over 100 million megabytes of bandwidth capacity, which is more than enough to power BBC iPlayer continuously for 59 years.
The research found the most common problems diagnosed by TalkTalk's BrightSparks engineers were:
- 38% - speed lost through poor wiring
- 34% - router needed to be set up or reconfigured
- 15 % - other problems such as not connecting router to the master socket
- 13% - new broadband filter required
To help combat these common problems TalkTalk has today launched a new Online Service Centre - a one stop shop for customers seeking help with their broadband issues. The service is the most complete for broadband customers, providing thorough guidance and support.
The centre will allow customers to run live checks on their broadband, phone and TV services and help fix common problems. In-built self-diagnosis tools, means customers can troubleshoot and resolve their connectivity issues. Those issues that can’t be resolved can be reported and tracked.
Customers can also sign up to SMS alerts to get the latest update on their incident. The centre will also automatically identify when customers are due a free router or when they can benefit from an engineer visit to their home or a call back from the help centre.
"We see thousands of homes wasting broadband width simply because of a poor in home set up." said TalkTalk BrightSparks engineer Keith Myles. "People need to think about their broadband in the same way as other utilities such as water and electricity - it's a commodity that can go to waste if you're not careful."
Tristia Harrison, Commercial Director at TalkTalk, added: "The launch of the new service centre is part of TalkTalk's on-going commitment to improving customers' experience. TalkTalk was recently top rated for broadband, TV and phone packages in the Which? Customer Satisfaction Survey which shows how customers are already benefitting from our efforts."
TalkTalk’s Online Service Centre is part of TalkTalk’s £100m network upgrade programme to ensure Britain is getting faster, safer and more reliable broadband. Engineer visits and free router upgrades have provided hundreds of thousands of British homes with stronger connections, allowing them to take full advantage of TalkTalk’s totally unlimited downloads.
Visit TalkTalk’s Online Service Centre here talktalk.co.uk/servicecentre