Some of the UK’s biggest broadband providers simply aren’t offering a good enough service. That’s according to the team at Which? who say many smaller so-called alt-nets give customers better speeds, improved reliability and better value for money. Which?’s latest research suggests the most common broadband problems affecting UK households last year were frequent connection dropouts. Other moans include slow speeds and service outages. What makes things most concerning is that some of the largest providers are among the worst performers when it comes to internet issues.

In fact, the vast majority of broadband customers (91 percent) say they have experienced problems with their service.

This means fewer than one in ten have never experienced gripes with their supplier.

So, who is performing badly and who is coming top of the list?

According to Which? Sky is the worst for frequent dropouts that are quickly resolved, with nearly four in ten respondents (38%) reporting they faced these disruptions. Another loser was Virgin Media, with users claiming its service is not reliable enough.

A third of Virgin customers (30 percent) reported experiencing dropouts – despite also paying the highest average broadband bills among major providers. Another bugbear is slow downloads with a quarter of households telling Which? they experience this annoyance.

This was especially true for Sky customers, with nearly a third of respondents saying their speeds aren’t up to scratch.

So who is winning?

Which? found that smaller providers perform significantly better. Zen Internet stands out as a top performer with high proportions of customers reporting they rarely or never experience issues. London-based Community Fibre also scored highly, as did Hyperoptic. Out of the big names, Plusnet was a standout brand beating other rivals such as Vodafone, EE and its parent company BT.

These findings reflect wider Which? research into broadband providers which shows that smaller providers consistently outperform larger rivals in key areas such as reliability, customer service and value for money.

Which? Is now urging homes to check the suppliers available in their streets and switch if they don’t think they are getting good value for their money.

The best way to see what ISPs have cables in your street is to use the Ofcom broadband checker.

Natalie Hitchins, Which? Head of Home Products and Services, said: “For many broadband customers, these findings will come as no surprise. Our research consistently shows that larger providers are outshone by smaller rivals.

“Many of the biggest names in broadband have been letting customers down for too long. Delaying improvements and failing to offer a better service will only drive customers to companies that treat them better.

“Good-quality broadband isn’t a luxury – it is an essential. With plenty of competitive deals available, consumers have more power than ever to vote with their feet and switch.”

In response to this report, a Virgin Media spokesperson said: “We’re investing millions of pounds every day to give our customers great services, with Ofcom’s latest official data showing Virgin Media is now the least-complained-about broadband provider, with complaints at record lows.

“Real-world independent data from Opensignal ranks Virgin Media top across every national broadband category – including download speed, upload speed, consistent quality, video experience and reliability – showing that in reality our customers benefit from the UK’s best broadband services.”