• In the past year, Brits in more than 21M households across the UK (76%) experienced WiFi Rage - defined as anger or frustration caused by poor internet connection.
• As a result, poor internet connectivity is causing heightened levels of stress, the inability to access basic services (such as GP appointments), as well as household arguments or tension.
• Community Fibre is calling on the nation to check their WiFi speeds, following new findings which show a third (31%) of Brits are unaware of what services and speeds their broadband package entails

 

Wednesday, 17^th May, London, UK: Three quarters (76%) of Brits experienced WiFi Rage in the past 12 months, according to new findings released today by Community Fibre, London’s fastest full fibre broadband^[1]. The newly researched phenomenon, which is triggered by poor and unreliable broadband connections, has found to impact a third (35%) of British households on a weekly basis – amounting to almost 9.8M homes.

Slow speeds and “wheel of doom” amongst top WiFi gripes

WiFi consistently cutting out (36%) is the number one contributing factor for broadband-related frustration, followed closely by slow internet speeds (32%) and constant buffering (29%) - commonly referred to as the “wheel of doom”. Despite 44% of the UK’s workforce now working from home for at least part of the week^[2], 15% of people say the inability to work effectively from home has also caused infuriating rage over poor connectivity.

The top five causes for WiFi Rage:

1. WiFi cutting out (36%)
2. Slow internet e.g., slow upload / download speeds (32%)
3. Constant buffering and loading (29%)
4. Unable to access web pages (20%)
5. Videos not working properly e.g., on social media or streaming services (19%)

 

As a result of poor internet connectivity, researchers have found that WiFi Rage is causing issues ranging from heightened levels of stress to the inability to access basic services such as GP appointments, online banking, or government services, as well as arguments within the household.

The top five issues poor internet connectivity is causing:

1. Heightened levels of stress (16%)
2. Inability to relax or have downtime (15%)
3. Inability to access basic services such as GP appointments, online-banking, or government services (14%)
4. Unable to keep up to date with friends and family on social media or email (11%)
5. Household arguments or tension within relationships because of unstable internet (10%)

 

As services in the UK become increasingly digitised, almost three-quarters (71%) of Brits now view broadband as an essential utility, and no longer as a nice-to-have. However, with WiFi Rage causing nationwide despair and preventing seamless access to crucial services, it comes as no surprise that two-thirds of Brits (66%) are not satisfied with their broadband provider.

Brits are still baffled by their WiFi packages…

With a third (33%) of Brits unable to define the difference between wired and WiFi broadband speeds, and a further third (31%) unaware of what their broadband package includes, Community Fibre is working to educate consumers to empower them to better understand and tackle their WiFi woes.

Graeme Oxby, CEO of Community Fibre, comments, “We’re on a mission to tackle the issue of slow speeds - and the inevitable WiFi Rage that ensues as a result. With a third of Brits unaware of their WiFi speed, we’d encourage anyone struggling with their connection to check their speed via our online tool - and challenge their broadband provider to improve their speed if it’s registering significantly below their agreed package deal.

“At Community Fibre, we’re proud to connect Londoners to full-fibre broadband, which provides fast and reliable internet access using only fibre optic cables, direct to your home. We’d encourage anyone living in the capital who is being burdened by WiFi Rage to explore our packages, for access to super-speedy broadband.”

Of those who have a fibre broadband package, 37% didn’t check what kind of fibre is provided in their area before purchasing - potentially missing out on super-fast full fibre broadband options with competitively priced speeds of up to 3 Gbps. This is significantly faster than the partial fibre broadband alternative, which serves speeds of around 30-70 Mbps.

Five tips to improve your WiFi speed according to Community Fibre:

1. Position your router in an open location that’s not hidden behind your TV or furniture.
2. Ensure your router is not too close to the floor (a shelf, desk or table will do the trick) or near a window; you’ll ‘waste’ signal by broadcasting to the outside.
3. Water can also reduce your signal strength so keep your router away from fish tanks.
4. Keep the router upright so that its WiFi signal goes outwards and not into the floor.
5. Broadband speed is shared so disconnect devices you don’t need from the router.

 

Those struggling with WiFi Rage and poor internet connection can check their WiFi speed via ​​https://communityfibre.co.uk/speedtest. Anyone living in London looking to switch to the award-winning fibre provider, which was recently named 2023’s ‘Best Alternative Network’ by Uswitch and has more than 28,000 5-star reviews by its customers on Trustpilot (May 2023), customers can head to communityfibre.co.uk to find out more.

 

- ENDS -

 

Online survey by Censuswide of 1,000 adults in the UK. The survey took place between 26th and 28th April 2023.

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About Community Fibre

Community Fibre is future-proofing London communities by delivering 100% full-fibre broadband in the capital city. By believing in a more inclusive future where everyone has access to better broadband.

Community Fibre offers the fastest 100% full fibre broadband in London, with up to 10,000 Mbps for businesses and up to 3,000 Mbps for consumers, at the most competitive prices on the market. Through offering more reliable and affordable 100% full fibre connections, Community Fibre empowers communities, enabling them to connect with friends and family and access crucial services online.

Community Fibre was named the UK’s best Consumer Internet Service Provider 100k- for the third year running at the Internet Service Provider Association (ISPA) Awards 2022, in addition to being recognised as the Best Broadband Provider for Business. It is also the UK’s #1 Internet Service Provider according to Trustpilot, a title it has held every month for the last three years.

Currently, Community Fibre operates in the following London boroughs: Barking and Dagenham, Barnet, Brent, Bexley, Bromley, Camden, City of London, Croydon, Ealing, Enfield, Greenwich, Hackney, Hammersmith and Fulham, Haringey, Harrow, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Islington, Kensington and Chelsea, Kingston upon Thames, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Newham, Redbridge, Richmond upon Thames, Southwark, Sutton, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest, Wandsworth, and Westminster.