Despite adverts for improved speeds and headline-grabbing “free broadband” promotions, many consumers feel they are getting a raw deal when they venture online. When you are faced with sporadic reliability and poor customer service, choosing the right broadband internet service provider (ISP) is chancy and difficult.

To discover which ISPs are living up to their promises and which are not, InGear teamed up with Computing Which? and Thinkbroadband.com, an independent internet monitor. We used data from 13,500 Computing Which? subscribers who were also broadband users. They rated their ISP for customer service and reliability of connection, along with online and telephone technical support. The smaller (and, it has to be said, pricier) ISPs excelled here, with Waitrose and Zen Internet earning satisfaction scores of more than 80%. At the other end of the scale, Virgin Media and Talk Talk scraped in at less than 50% – while Orange managed just 36%.

But perhaps the ISPs were struggling to give good service because they were concentrating on delivering high-speed broadband? Sadly not. Thinkbroadband checked how fast ISPs were – and found that few consumers were getting the full “up to 8Mbps” service they were paying for.

Like mpg figures for cars and estimated servings from wine bottles, official broadband speeds rarely stand up in the real world. Thinkbroadband found that at peak times in the evenings, UK consumers using the eight ISPs on test enjoyed an average speed of just 2.3Mbps – less than a third of the target figure.

Broadband speeds decrease the further you live from a telephone exchange, and the busier the exchange is. But some providers are better than others. Thinkbroadband found that the fastest traditional ISP on test (Zen Internet at 3.1Mbps) was more than twice as fast as the slowest (Tiscali at 1.5Mbps). Virgin Media, which uses fibreoptic cables instead of ADSL phone lines, was faster still (3.8Mbps). The fastest service, Be (www.bethere.co.uk, not tested), uses the latest ADSL2+ technology to give average speeds of 5.5Mbps at peak times, but is available only to users living close to digital exchanges.

High-speed broadband is more important as we start to download large files (such as movies) or watch the latest internet TV “catchup” services. But even the fastest broadband services may not let you watch all the online TV and films you want. This is because most ISPs cap the amount of data you can receive per month – look for the download limits in the individual reviews.

They are doing this because streaming video requires huge amounts of data (about 0.6GB an hour). According to PlusNet, a popular ISP, about 5% of its capacity is being used by the BBC’s iPlayer software – that’s before you add in similar services from Sky, Channel 4 and ITV, or high-definition movie downloads to your Xbox.

Exceed the limit imposed by your ISP and you’ll suffer extra charges, ranging from 30p per GB at BT to a whopping £2 per GB at Waitrose.

Don’t think that ISPs without limits will let you download to your heart’s content. All the ISPs have a “fair use” policy (often vague) that allows them to restrict speeds – or withhold their service – if they think your use is excessive, especially at busy times. And all say they exclude illegal activity, such as sharing copyrighted movies and music.

Broadband ISPs are increasingly keen to sign you up to more than just internet access. Orange, Tiscali, Talk Talk and Virgin require you to move your phone line rental from BT to get their best deals. We’ve split the cost of this from their tariffs, to give a level playing field.

When you’re choosing an ISP, don’t forget to take into account set-up fees and the length of your contract. Except where mentioned, all the ISPs here charge for technical help over the phone. All offer web mail with basic antispam and antivirus security, and some (Orange, Talk Talk, Virgin, Waitrose and Zen) give you web space to make your own website.

JARGON BUSTER

ADSL (Asymmetric digital subscriber line) The most common type of broadband connection, using your home phone line

Download caps A typical monthly download limit of 5GB equates to about 120 hours of surfing each week

Mbps (Megabits per second) A measure of broadband speed. ADSL downloads are usually 2-3Mbps, while upload speeds are about 0.3Mbps

Router Plugs into your phone line and computer to share the broadband connection

CABLE TALK

Virgin Media Broadband L and Phone

Four stars

www.virginmedia.com - £11.50pm, no limits

High speeds and no caps are a downloader’s dream

Just over half the UK population can access Virgin Media’s fibreoptic cable network for internet, phone and TV. Despite being the fastest on test already, this 4Mbps service is upgrading free to 10Mbps (with a free wireless router) over the coming months. There’s also a zippy 20Mbps offering (from £20 per month) for power users. On the downside, customer service and reliability were rated only average by Computing Which? readers. You’ll also need to move your phone line rental to Virgin and pay a £30 set-up fee.

CHAIN REACTION

Waitrose

Four stars

www.waitrose.com - £19pm with 5GB limit

Feelgood broadband that is worth checking out

Despite Waitrose’s conservative high street image, the supermarket chain’s internet service was pretty whizzy. The supplied router is easy to set up (wi-fi costs £25 extra) and technical support is both free to call and was rated extremely helpful by Computing Which?. The 5GB monthly limit and average speed (as measured in tests) will suit lighter users only, especially as extra GBs cost a pricey £2 each. A nice touch is that all Waitrose’s broadband profits go to a customer-chosen charity.

SPECIALIST SERVICE

Zen Internet 8000 Lite

Four stars

www.zen.co.uk - £18pm with 2GB limit

Minimalist marvel with excellent support

Last year’s Test Bench winner does it again, with an efficient, no-frills service that earned top marks for customer service, (UK-based) technical support and reliability. There’s no set-up fee if you’re swapping from another ISP and the contract has just one month’s notice, although Zen is the only company that doesn’t include a router. And while the broadband itself is very fast, a meagre 2GB limit means that heavy downloaders might need a more expensive package (such as a 20GB limit for £25 per month).

TOTALLY AVERAGE

BT Total Broadband Option 1

Three stars

www.bt.com - £18pm with 5GB limit

A variety of frills cannot excuse average service

BT’s comprehensive wireless broadband package comes with a host of digital extras, including some free use of its nationwide network of wireless hotspots, online storage to back up data, and on-demand TV through BT Vision (£30 extra). Reliability, customer service and technical help were rated as average by Computing Which?, and speed was below average in our tests. The download limit increases to 6GB in May, but charges to exceed that will also go up. Overall, a solidly mediocre experience.

TRIPLE PLAYER

Sky Broadband See Speak Surf

Three stars

www.sky.com - £26pm with 40GB limit, plus TV

Good value for TV addicts but unreliable

This “triple play” deal from Sky includes wireless broadband, some free evening and weekend phone calls, and a Sky satellite dish and box letting you watch more than 100 television channels. Download speeds were good and upload speeds were the best on test, making this a sensible choice if you upload or share big media files. However, Computing Which? readers rated reliability below average, and technical help was even worse. There’s also a £30 set-up fee. News Corporation, the parent company of The Sunday Times, has a 39% stake in Sky.

DOUBLE TROUBLE

Talk Talk Broadband

Two stars

www.talktalk.co.uk - £5.89pm with 40GB limit

Cheap cheap but also weak weak

You’ll need to pay a £30 installation fee and shift your line rental to Talk Talk (not available nationwide) to get this low-priced deal. A large 40GB limit will cheer downloaders, but upgrading to a wi-fi router costs another £30 and it’s way below average for customer service and (admittedly free) technical help. It’s also the worst on test for reliability, according to Computing Which?. Speed was below par and the minimum contract is a hefty 18 months, showing that price isn’t everything.

SLOWLY DOES IT

Tiscali Broadband Option 1

Two stars

www.tiscali.co.uk - £3.99pm with no limit

Cheapest on test – and the slowest

Another cheap deal that requires you to move your line rental (and pay £30 to set up), Tiscali at least includes a wireless router and scraps download limits. That might seem irrelevant, though, as Tiscali was also the slowest ISP, with an average download speed (1,483Kbps) less than half that of Virgin Media or Zen Internet. Connections were rated average for reliability and about the same for customer service and technical support. Tiscali is a better budget choice than Talk Talk, but only just.

LACKING IN JUICE

One stars

Orange Home Max www.orange.co.uk - £13pm with no limit

Underperformer with little to commend

Moving your phone line rental to Orange for its broadband service means putting all your digital eggs into one threadbare basket. The wireless broadband package has no download limits but was rated below average for reliability. Downloading was very sluggish (only just better than Tiscali) and uploading was the slowest on test. Customer service got bottom marks, as did the costly (50p per minute) technical support. What’s worse, you’ll be locked into this shaky service for longer than most ISPs on test – 18 months.

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