Renters More Dissatisfied with Their Home Broadband

Renters are twice as likely as owner-occupiers to describe their home broadband as “average” or “unreliable,” a new survey commissioned by full-fibre provider CityFibre and the Quality of Life Foundation has revealed.

The survey quantified the increased importance of broadband in our post-pandemic lives. 42% of adults now say that the internet is so important that their lives would be impossible without it, up more than a third since before the pandemic. Just 1% of respondents now say the internet isn’t at all important. 

The inadequate internet received by renters has had a “significant impact” on their ability to cope during the national lockdown, CityFibre warned. Overall, homeowners found it a fifth (21%) easier to perform tasks such as home working or online schooling than renters.

But homeowners have also experienced internet outages and slow speeds. Respondents gave the UK’s “ageing legacy” networks—by which they mean copper telephone lines—6 out of 10, just above average, for their performance during the pandemic.

69% of all respondents reported that they had suffered from interruptions in their broadband service, including outages, in the last year. 87% of respondents said that improvements in the speed and reliability of their broadband connection would improve their lives.

CityFibre chief executive Greg Mesch attributed the poor broadband experience of renters to the reluctance of landlords to grant companies such as his access to buildings to install new full-fibre connections.

“What this research highlights is that those in rented or social accommodation are often worst affected by poor quality connectivity. Often the biggest challenge to address this is securing permissions from landlords to install new Full Fibre networks. Industry, landlords, and the Government must redouble efforts to overcome this barrier quickly to ensure that no one is left behind,” he explained.

The government is currently consulting on proposals that would make it cheaper and easier for full-fibre providers to access large buildings when landlords don't respond. The existing process to gain permission from unresponsive landlords can cost up to £14,000 and take many months. Under the new proposals, this would fall to around £300 and take only a few weeks, allowing an additional 3,000 multi-dwelling unit (MDU) buildings to be connected to full-fibre each year. 

Of course, CityFibre has a vested interest in finding fault with legacy broadband networks, the copper telephone lines used in ADSL and FTTC, lacking. It’s rolling out its own full-fibre network to compete with the networks operated by Openreach (BT) and Virgin Media. It currently reaches 650,000 homes and businesses in 66 locations and is targeting a total of eight million by 2025. The firm has also suggested that if it secures the appropriate funding, it may increase this target to 10 million premises by the same date.

Mesch said: “Lockdown has put pressure on every part of our lives, and the digital infrastructure supporting this country is no different. Slow and unreliable copper-based networks are no longer fit for purpose. The nation’s upgrade to fast and reliable Full Fibre connectivity can’t come soon enough.”

The survey, conducted by Portland Communications in April 2021, quizzed just over 1,000 UK adults about their home broadband experience.