TalkTalk 'most complained-about ISP' for fifth time

TalkTalk has maintained its position as the UK's most complained-about broadband provider for the fifth quarter running.

The company beat fellow ISPs Sky, BT, Orange and Virgin to hold onto the dubious honour for the first quarter of this year, according to data published by communications regulator Ofcom on Tuesday.

TalkTalk notched up 0.56 complaints per thousand broadband subscriptions — almost four times higher than the least complained-about ISP, Sky.

"TalkTalk Group continues to generate most complaints, focusing on issues around line faults and other service issues," Ofcom said in its report into the complaints.

It's a similar picture in fixed-line telephony: during the first quarter of this year, TalkTalk received 0.72 complaints per 1,000 subscriptions, putting it way into the lead for disgruntled customers.

Its nearest rival, BT, attracted one-third the level of complaints in the quarter, while least-complained about fixed-line provider Virgin Media caused almost one-fifth the level of objections to Ofcom.

However, TalkTalk's performance in fixed line appears to be improving: over the last five quarters, the level of complaints made against it has fallen by around one-third.