Broadband ISPs' services ranked

BT offered its customers the best broadband performance in the UK in the second half of 2007, according to figures.

Rankings put together by Epitiro benchmark the services offered by ISPs in the UK taking factors such as ping rates, upload and download speeds and DNS (domain name server) performance.

The rankings see PlusNet, which is owned by BT, in second place, with Tiscali and Orange in fourth and fifth respectively.

"Reaching second place in the Epitiro rankings is brilliant recognition for the investment and effort we've put in over the last 12 months," said Phil Sheard, e-marketing manager, PlusNet.

"Broadband customers are growing more savvy about quality of service and the Epitiro ratings help people to make an informed choice," continued Sheard.

Third place is taken by O2, which has only been offering fixed-line broadband services for a short while.

Epitiro's managing director Gavin Johns warned that there were a number of factors to take into account when choosing a broadband provider.

"While many customers are choosing their service provider on price alone, an increasing number seem to be choosing their service on download speeds, and judging their selection of company on crude online speed tests. Both approaches could lead to disappointment.

"It's important to remember that download speed is just one indicator of broadband performance. Other factors such as the reliability and quality of the network connection are just as important as speed when judging an internet service," continued Johns.

The rankings only include companies using ADSL and ADSL2+ technologies, so exclude Virgin Media, which delivers broadband services via a cable network.

www.epitiro.co.uk