4 June 2024 - Brits would rather give up holidays, showers and even food just to keep their broadband connection, new research by Utility Warehouse (UW) reveals today.

In a survey on the nation’s attitudes towards broadband, more than a third (34%) said they would be happy to cancel a week’s holiday rather than go without broadband for a week. More than two in five (43%) admitted they would even sacrifice their personal hygiene and stop showering for a week rather than lose their broadband for the same time. And just over a quarter (26%) claimed they would rather go hungry and not eat for a day than go without broadband for a day.

Despite our broadband dependance, however, many households are frustrated with their service. Just over a fifth (21%) of respondents felt exasperated by poor coverage in different rooms at home, 13% complained of slow streaming speeds and 16% pointed to poor customer and tech support.

But when asked if they would switch their supplier, an astonishing 22% said they would prefer to go to the dentist to have a tooth out than change provider, while almost two thirds (65%) said they would rather file their tax return. More than 20% said the fear of being without a broadband connection during the switch was holding them back from switching, while a third (33%) were worried about switching to a worse service.

However, more than one in three said they would be encouraged to switch if they were guaranteed no costly mid-contract price rise and more than one in ten (11%) said they would switch suppliers if they could test their new broadband supplier first before committing to a contract.

The research comes as UW launches its new six months free full fibre broadband offer over CityFibre’s new full fibre network, enabling eligible customers to access lightning-fast and ultra-reliable full fibre broadband completely free for the first six months – saving them on average £214*.

Customers can choose two speeds, either Full Fibre 100 or Full Fibre 500, to deliver a flawless online experience alongside their existing connection before deciding whether to switch to UW, meaning no loss of service or risk to the quality of their broadband. And unlike many other suppliers, UW also guarantees no mid-contract price rises or connection fees on all its broadband packages.

David Walter, Chief Growth Officer at Utility Warehouse, said: “Millions of us depend on broadband to stream movies, download music, shop online and work from home. But as our research shows, many households are reluctant to take the plunge with a new supplier and instead are prepared to make some pretty big personal sacrifices to avoid switching in case they get a worse connection or their service drops out during the switch.

“That’s why we’re giving our customers the opportunity to try our ultra-fast full fibre broadband absolutely free of charge for six months until they’re confident about their new connection - giving them complete peace of mind that they’re getting the very best technology and service.”

To sign up, customers need to be a homeowner and take full fibre broadband in a CityFibre area plus one other UW service from energy, mobile or boiler cover but they can cancel their broadband any time within the six months with zero termination fees if they don’t want to commit to a contract.