Virgin Media broadband was down for thousands of customers in the UK on the morning of Wednesday 10th March. The issues began at around 7am, leading to more than 2,500 reports of problems being logged on the Down Detector website. This news raises concerns, given that millions of people in the UK require reliable broadband access for remote working, with 66% of us (https://www.quadient.com/en-GB/resources/telecoms-customer-experience-fit-purpose-time-of-covid-19) relying on online services more during lockdown.

Despite that, internet issues have been a common trend over the course of the pandemic, with 8.5 million UK households experiencing problems that have disrupted their work or personal lives. In a time of increased demand, it is understandable that some connectivity issues will occur. However, what is important is how internet providers communicate this information to their customers. UK consumers rank internet as the third most important service in their lives, above key utilities and banking. As a result, they need to be quickly informed of any issues providers are having, with a clear timeline for repair.

“Internet access has arguably never been more important to UK consumers than during the Covid-19 lockdown. Having your WiFi go down in the middle of the working week will pose problems for the huge numbers of us currently working from home,” said Andrew Stevens, Principal, Customer Experience at Quadient.

“As WiFi becomes increasingly important, providers must deal with any connection issues quickly and effectively – and the customer experience plays a key role. UK consumers will accept there are likely to be connectivity problems during these unprecedented times. However, telecommunications providers must meet them halfway: not only resolving the issue, but giving customers timely and personalised information, advice and support they need.”