Ofcom Update, 24 July 2026: Broadband Complaints Hit a Record Low
First, why does this update cover so much that is not broadband?
Direct answer: because Ofcom is not a broadband regulator. It is the regulator for the whole of UK communications, and its remit is far wider than most people realise. Once you see the shape of it, a week spanning complaints data, Wi-Fi spectrum, satellite licences and phone bills stops looking random.
In Ofcom's own description, it is the independent regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries, with responsibilities across television, radio, video on demand, telecoms, wireless communications and postal services. Two more jobs have been added recently: it became the UK's online safety regulator under the Online Safety Act 2023, and in February 2025 it took over the day to day regulation of services charged to phone bills from the Phone-paid Services Authority.
So one organisation now oversees your broadband contract, the airwaves your Wi-Fi runs on, the satellite dishes serving rural homes, the charges on your mobile bill, and more than 100,000 online services.
Why each part of Ofcom's remit reaches your home
Your contract, your price rises, your right to complain, and what you are owed when a service fails. The obvious one.
The airwaves. This decides how good home Wi-Fi can get, and whether rural properties can receive fixed wireless broadband. Your router is a spectrum story.
Licensing the ground stations that connect satellite constellations to the internet. For some rural homes this is the difference between an option and none.
Anything charged to your phone bill or pre-pay credit. It lands on the same bill as your line rental, which is exactly why it sits with the same regulator.
Since the Online Safety Act 2023. It occasionally intersects with broadband directly, as it did this week, when the question is what your provider may block.
Television, radio, video on demand and postal services. Real work, but rarely relevant to a broadband bill, so we leave it to others.
That is the honest answer to why this update ranges as widely as it does. We are not padding. We are following one regulator whose decisions reach your home through several different doors, and translating the parts that come through yours.
This week in brief
- Broadband complaints hit an all-time low of 6 per 100,000 customers. TalkTalk was highest at 10, Plusnet lowest at 4.
- Both ombudsman schemes held their standards through the first quarter under the faster six-week escalation rule.
- Starlink was granted two UK gateway licences, which Ofcom says should improve capacity and resilience for UK customers.
- Higher power and outdoor Wi-Fi got the green light in the 6 GHz band, with rollout starting from September.
- 64% of people using phone-billed services worry about scams, and most who hit a problem do not know who to complain to.
Theme one: what happens when things go wrong
Two publications landed on the same day, 23 July, and together they tell a single story about accountability. One measures how often UK households have cause to complain. The other measures how well the system copes when they do.
Broadband complaints have fallen to a record low
Direct answer: complaints about fixed broadband fell again in the first quarter of 2026 and are now at the lowest level since Ofcom's records began, at an industry average of 6 per 100,000 customers.
Fifteen years of falling complaints
Broadband complaints to Ofcom, per 100,000 customers. Lower is better. Source: Ofcom.
Six per 100,000 is roughly one customer in every sixteen thousand. The industry is now running at about a seventh of its 2011 complaint rate.
Ofcom's quarterly data covers January to March 2026. Complaints about fixed broadband and pay-monthly mobile both decreased, while landline and pay-TV stayed the same (Ofcom, 2026a). That follows a rise in the previous quarter, which Ofcom attributes mainly to mobile complaints after several providers announced mid-contract price rises.
Q1 2026 broadband complaints, the providers Ofcom named
Per 100,000 customers, January to March 2026. Showing the highest, the lowest two and the industry average. Source: Ofcom.
The whole industry now sits between 4 and 10. In 2011 the average alone was around 40, so today's worst performer would have been comfortably 2011's best. We are preparing a full report with the complete table across all four services.
In Ofcom's own summary of the quarter:
- TalkTalk was the most complained about fixed broadband provider, at 10 per 100,000 against an industry average of 6, with complaints at similar levels to the previous quarter. Plusnet attracted the fewest at 4, followed by Sky at 5. TalkTalk's complaints related mainly to faults, complaints handling, service and provisioning, and billing.
- Plusnet and TalkTalk generated the most landline complaints, both increasing on the previous quarter.
- Sky Mobile was the most complained about pay-monthly mobile provider, driven primarily by customers' experiences of changing provider.
- EE and Virgin Media attracted the most pay-TV complaints, with Sky and TalkTalk the fewest. Just over a quarter of complaints about EE related to how complaints themselves were handled.
One caveat worth stating, because it is usually left out. These are complaints made to Ofcom, not to providers. Most unhappy customers complain to their provider and go no further, so this is a relative service-quality signal rather than a count of everyone who had a bad week. It remains one of very few independent, like-for-like measures we have, and it is normalised per 100,000 customers so a large provider cannot hide behind size.
Our existing complaints by provider report covers the previous quarter and explains how to read the data properly.
The ombudsman schemes held up under the new faster rules
Direct answer: yes, and this is the finding nobody else is reporting. April to June 2026 was the first quarter to reflect the faster escalation that began on 8 April, and both approved schemes held or improved their standards throughout.
If your provider cannot resolve a complaint, you can take it to a free, independent ombudsman. Since 8 April 2026 you can do that after six weeks rather than eight. The obvious worry with a change like that is capacity: shorten the queue and more cases arrive sooner. A cynic would expect the schemes to slip. Ofcom's data shows the opposite (Ofcom, 2026b).
Ombudsman performance through the rule change
Percentage achieved against Ofcom's target. The faster six-week escalation began on 8 April 2026, at the start of the third bar in each group.
Scale runs 0 to 100%. The dashed line marks the target. Source: Ofcom.
Calls answered within two minutes target above 85%
Case decisions reached within six weeks of acceptance target above 95%
Every bar clears its target in every quarter. The Communications Ombudsman's call answering actually improved, from 93% to 95%, across the period when the rule changed.
Both schemes also replied to 100% of written correspondence within 10 working days in all three quarters, and issued under 1% of decisions later than eight weeks after acceptance. Ofcom notes that because the schemes work differently, a CISAS decision is a final decision, while for the Communications Ombudsman it is the point at which an initial decision is issued.
Two different six-week periods, easily confused
One is how long you wait before you can escalate to the ombudsman, now six weeks instead of eight. The other is the scheme's own target for reaching a decision once it has accepted your case, which happens to also be six weeks. They are separate clocks. Together, the journey from raising a complaint to receiving an independent decision is now meaningfully shorter than it was a year ago.
If you are stuck in a complaint right now
If you raised it on or after 8 April 2026 and six weeks have passed without resolution, take it to the free independent scheme your provider belongs to, either the Communications Ombudsman or CISAS. You can go sooner if your provider issues a deadlock letter. It costs nothing, and membership is a legal requirement for every consumer-facing provider. Our guide to complaints and your rights explains the process, and compensation and service failure covers what you may be owed.
Adrian's take
These two publications belong together and are almost never read together. One says households have less to complain about than at any point on record. The other says that when they do complain, the safety net is quick and it did not buckle when Ofcom made it busier. I would rather report that than hunt for a villain, because it happens to be what the evidence says. The nuance to keep hold of is that the complaints figures only count people who escalated as far as the regulator, so treat them as a comparison between providers rather than a measure of how many people had a bad week.
Theme two: getting connected, especially where it is hardest
Three publications on 20 July that look technical and are really about the same thing: extending usable connectivity to places that struggle for it.
Starlink granted two new UK ground stations
Direct answer: Ofcom granted Starlink two non-geostationary gateway earth station licences, at Harlow in Essex and Mulberry Wharf in London.
Some plain explanation first, because the terminology is unhelpful. In Ofcom's words, non-geostationary satellite systems deliver broadband from space using a constellation of satellites in low or medium Earth orbit, and have the potential to deliver higher speeds and lower latency than older satellite services. A gateway earth station is the ground side of that: the link between the satellites overhead and the internet itself. More gateways generally means more capacity and better resilience.
Ofcom's own assessment is that the decision should help Starlink to improve the capacity and resilience of its existing satellite connectivity services to households, business and other potential customers in the UK (Ofcom, 2026c).
One detail worth noticing: Amazon Leo filed a response to the consultation. UK satellite broadband is no longer a one-company story, and competition tends to be good news for the households relying on it.
This sits alongside Ofcom's confirmation earlier this month that satellite now counts as a viable alternative to the 10 Mbps universal service obligation. Our guide to Starlink for rural UK broadband covers what it actually delivers, and our rural broadband guide works through the alternatives in order.
Better Wi-Fi, and a quiet win for rural connectivity
Direct answer: Ofcom published two decisions enabling higher power indoor and outdoor Wi-Fi in the 6 GHz band. Applications from coordination providers open on 1 September 2026 and regulations follow in autumn 2026, so households see the benefit later rather than now.
The mechanism is called Automated Frequency Coordination, and it is cleverer than the name suggests. An AFC system automatically works out what spectrum is available and what power a Wi-Fi device may use, based on where that device is and what else is operating nearby in the 5925 to 7125 MHz band (Ofcom, 2026d). That lets more powerful Wi-Fi run without interfering with existing licensed users of the same airwaves.
Ofcom's stated aim is more intensive and efficient use of the band, supporting higher-performance indoor and outdoor Wi-Fi, new applications and additional fixed wireless access capacity. It notes specifically that this may help meet demand in outdoor environments, such as sports stadiums, where dense access point deployments and additional channels can support very high data traffic requirements as well as provide additional spectrum solution for provision for fixed wireless access (FWA) particularly in rural areas.
That final clause is why this sits in the same section as the satellite story. Fixed wireless access is how a good number of rural properties get a usable connection when no fibre has reached them. More spectrum for it is quietly significant, even though it will not show up on anyone's bill this year.
Alongside this, Ofcom confirmed how the upper 6 GHz band will be shared, with a Wi-Fi priority portion and a mobile priority portion running from 6585 to 7125 MHz (Ofcom, 2026e). Our guide to Wi-Fi 6, 6E and 7 explains the 6 GHz band in home terms.
Theme three: what is on your bill
The £604 million market that lives on your phone bill
Direct answer: Ofcom published its Annual Market Review for Phone-paid Services on 21 July. These are services charged to your phone bill or pre-pay credit, and the consumer findings are the most immediately useful thing published all week.
Phone-paid services cover more than people realise: streaming subscriptions, charity donations, voting on talent shows, competitions, directory enquiries and app store purchases including in-game add-ons. The market has been shrinking for five years.
UK phone-paid service revenues, six years
£ millions, adjusted for inflation. The pale segment is charitable donations passed on in full. Source: Ofcom.
The market has shrunk by nearly a quarter in real terms in five years. The pale band at the top is the striking part: charitable donations by phone fell 21.5% in the last year alone, to £28.2 million, as more people give online instead.
Underneath that decline, the mix has shifted completely. Operator billing, meaning app store and in-app purchases charged to your mobile account, has gone from under half the market to nearly two thirds.
Operator billing's share of the market
Percentage of total UK phone-paid service revenue. Source: Ofcom.
Up 21 percentage points in five years. If you have ever bought something inside a game and had it appear on your mobile bill, you are part of this line.
What actually happens when something goes wrong
The consumer research behind the review, a YouGov survey of more than 8,200 UK adults in March and April 2026, is where the practical value sits. Rather than list the percentages, here is what they mean for a hundred ordinary phone owners.
Out of every 100 UK phone owners
Our calculation, applying Ofcom's published percentages in sequence. Rounded to whole people.
The gap between 13 and 9 is the interesting one. Roughly three in ten people who hit a problem never tried to fix it, and Ofcom found that fewer than a third of those affected knew how to complain or who to complain to. Of those who did try, more than three quarters succeeded.
Two findings from the same research stand out. First, 58% of the complaints Ofcom received about these services came from people charged for something they had not requested, which has been the single most common complaint three years running. Second, worry about scams is not evenly spread.
Who worries about scams on phone-paid services
Percentage agreeing with "I worry about scams when using phone-paid services". Source: Ofcom, YouGov survey of 8,216 UK adults.
The practical takeaway
If you spot a charge on your phone bill you do not recognise, you are in very common company, and it is the most frequent complaint in this entire market. Start with the company providing the service, then your mobile or landline provider, then your bank if a card was involved. Those were the three routes people actually used, in that order. Ofcom also runs a premium rate service checker to help identify who is behind an unexpected charge.
Theme four: what your provider may and must do
Ofcom clarified when providers can block harmful content
Direct answer: Ofcom's net neutrality rules require broadband and mobile networks to treat traffic equally, but the guidance allows exceptions in the public interest. On 20 July Ofcom clarified that the list of those exceptions is not exhaustive.
The original guidance, published in October 2023, named fraudulent content and intimate image abuse content as examples where Ofcom would be unlikely to be concerned if a provider blocked access. The clarification confirms other categories of harmful content may also qualify, and gives content that encourages suicide or self-harm as an example (Ofcom, 2026g).
Ofcom set the conditions out carefully. Any blocking should be reasonable, proportionate, targeted and appropriately evidenced, and Ofcom will consider each case individually. That includes whether the provider is working with charities and other organisations focused on the relevant harms, whether a better alternative to blocking exists, and whether there is a clear and accessible route for content providers and users to report anything blocked in error.
Ofcom also confirmed that blocking such content within parental controls, rather than for everyone, was already covered by the existing guidance. Our UK ISP parental controls guide covers the free options every major provider offers.
What happens when a company does not pay a fine
Ofcom published an explainer on its enforcement powers under the Online Safety Act, where fines can reach £18 million or 10% of qualifying worldwide revenue, whichever is greater, with at least 28 days allowed for payment (Ofcom, 2026h). It notes that Ofcom regulates more than 100,000 companies, many based entirely outside the UK, and that it does not have the power to block a site simply for failing to pay a fine. Blocking requires continuing non-compliance with duties under the Act.
Separately, an online safety investigation was closed on 20 July with a £950,000 penalty imposed on the provider concerned. Ofcom has chosen not to name the service and says it will continue to monitor it.
The full week, and where we focused
| Publication | Matters to households? |
|---|---|
| Complaints about broadband, landline, mobile and pay-TV, Q1 2026 | Yes, a lot. Charted above |
| ADR schemes' performance, Q2 2026 | Yes. Charted above |
| Annual Market Review for Phone-paid Services 2025/26 | Yes. Charted above |
| Statement: Starlink gateway earth station licences | Yes, if rural. Covered above |
| Statement: Enabling automated frequency coordination in the 6 GHz band | Eventually. Covered above |
| Statement: Expanding access to the 6 GHz band | Eventually. Covered above |
| Clarification to net neutrality guidance on public interest exceptions | Some. Covered above |
| Automated Frequency Coordination guidance page | Technical. For equipment makers and coordination providers |
| Telecommunications Market Data Update, Q1 2026 | Background. See below |
| Final direction for Clear Mobitel Ltd | Indirect. See below |
| What happens when a company doesn't pay a fine | Some. Covered above |
| Outcome of an online safety investigation | Enforcement. Noted above |
Two of those deserve a line each. The Telecommunications Market Data Update, refreshed on 22 July, is Ofcom's quarterly market statistics. The broad direction is familiar: fixed voice revenues and call volumes continuing to fall, fixed broadband connections edging up, mobile data usage climbing. We will take this apart properly in our next market report rather than quote figures in passing.
The final direction for Clear Mobitel Ltd, published 22 July, grants powers under the Electronic Communications Code. These let a network builder install infrastructure in streets without obtaining a separate works licence each time, claim certain planning immunities, and apply to court where agreement with a landowner cannot be reached. Routine paperwork, but it is the machinery that lets new networks reach new streets, which is how most people eventually get a second or third option at their address.
What we are watching next
- 1 September 2026. Ofcom invites applications from prospective automated frequency coordination providers, the first practical step towards higher power Wi-Fi.
- Autumn 2026. Ofcom makes the regulations giving effect to the 6 GHz decisions.
- Around late October 2026. The next quarterly complaints release, covering April to June, which will show whether the record low holds.
- Later this year. Ofcom's next Connected Nations coverage update, which will move the headline full fibre figure again.
What this week means for your household
- If you have an unresolved complaint, the ombudsman route is quicker and it is working. Six weeks, free, independent, and every performance target was met in every quarter of the last three.
- Complaint rates are a genuinely useful shopping signal. One of very few independent, like-for-like measures of UK broadband service quality, normalised so that size cannot hide poor performance.
- Check your phone bill this month. Being charged for something you never asked for is the most common complaint in that market by a wide margin, and more than three quarters of people who query it get it resolved.
- If you are rural, keep checking. Between satellite gateways, fixed wireless spectrum and continued fibre build, the options at hard-to-reach addresses are changing faster than most people realise.
Adrian's closing thought
People sometimes ask why we bother with the spectrum and satellite items when this is a broadband site. The honest answer is that the boundary is artificial. The 6 GHz decision this week is a Wi-Fi decision, and Wi-Fi is what most people actually mean when they say their broadband is slow. The Starlink licences are a rural broadband decision wearing a satellite hat. Ofcom files these things by department, and I have never once met a household that experiences its connection in departments.
Frequently asked questions
What is Ofcom and what does it actually regulate?
Ofcom is the independent regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries. Its responsibilities cover television, radio, video on demand, telecoms, wireless communications and postal services. It also became the UK's online safety regulator under the Online Safety Act 2023, and took over the day to day regulation of services charged to phone bills in February 2025. That breadth is why a single week of Ofcom publications can span broadband complaints, Wi-Fi spectrum and online safety fines.
Why does a broadband site report on spectrum and phone bills?
Because they are the same subject seen from different angles. Spectrum decisions determine how good your home Wi-Fi can be and whether rural properties can get fixed wireless broadband. Satellite licences determine whether hard to reach homes have an option at all. Services charged to your phone bill appear on the same bill as your line rental. All of it affects how you get connected, what you pay, or what happens when something goes wrong.
Which broadband provider had the most complaints in Q1 2026?
TalkTalk, at 10 complaints per 100,000 customers, against an industry average of 6. Plusnet attracted the fewest at 4, followed by Sky at 5. The data covers January to March 2026 and the industry average is the lowest since Ofcom's records began.
Are UK broadband complaints going up or down?
Down, and steeply over the long run. The industry average has fallen from a peak of around 40 complaints per 100,000 customers in 2011 to 6 in the first quarter of 2026. Over the last three quarters alone it has moved from 8 to 7 to 6.
How quickly does the telecoms ombudsman deal with complaints?
Quickly, on Ofcom's own performance data. For April to June 2026, the Communications Ombudsman reached 99% of case decisions within six weeks of accepting a case and CISAS reached 97%, against a target of above 95%. Both schemes answered at least 95% of calls within two minutes and replied to all written correspondence within 10 working days, and both held or improved these standards across the three most recent quarters.
How long do I have to wait before going to the telecoms ombudsman?
Six weeks, for complaints raised on or after 8 April 2026. Before that date the wait was eight weeks. You can go sooner if your provider issues a deadlock letter. The service is free, and every consumer facing provider must belong to one of the two approved schemes, the Communications Ombudsman or CISAS.
Has Ofcom approved more Starlink infrastructure in the UK?
Yes. On 20 July 2026 Ofcom granted Starlink two non-geostationary gateway earth station licences, for sites at Harlow in Essex and Mulberry Wharf in London. Ofcom said the decision should help Starlink improve the capacity and resilience of its existing satellite services to UK households and businesses.
Is UK Wi-Fi about to get better?
The groundwork was laid this week rather than the benefit arriving. Ofcom published decisions enabling higher power indoor and outdoor Wi-Fi in the 6 GHz band under an automated coordination system, and confirmed how the upper 6 GHz band will be shared between Wi-Fi and mobile. Ofcom will invite applications from coordination providers from 1 September 2026 and make regulations in autumn 2026.
Can my broadband provider block websites?
In limited public interest circumstances, yes. Ofcom's net neutrality rules require traffic to be treated equally, but its guidance allows exceptions, and on 20 July 2026 Ofcom clarified that the list of those exceptions is not exhaustive. Any blocking must be reasonable, proportionate, targeted and appropriately evidenced, and Ofcom expects a clear route for users to report content blocked in error.
What should I do about a charge on my phone bill I do not recognise?
You are far from alone. Ofcom found that 58% of complaints about services charged to phone bills came from people billed for something they had not requested, the most common reason three years running. Start with the company providing the service, then your mobile or landline provider, then your bank if a card was involved. Those were the three routes people used, in that order, and 77% of those who tried to resolve an issue succeeded.
References
- Ofcom. (2026a). Report: Complaints about broadband, landline, mobile and pay-TV services. https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/service-quality/telecoms-and-pay-tv-complaints
- Ofcom. (2026b). ADR schemes' performance. https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/service-quality/adr-schemes-performance
- Ofcom. (2026c). Statement: Starlink application for two non-geostationary gateway earth station licences. https://www.ofcom.org.uk/spectrum/space-and-satellites/consultation-starlink-application-for-two-non-geostationary-gateway-earth-station-licences
- Ofcom. (2026d). Automated Frequency Coordination (AFC). https://www.ofcom.org.uk/spectrum/radio-equipment/automated-frequency-coordination-afc
- Ofcom. (2026e). Statement: Expanding access to the 6 GHz band for commercial mobile and Wi-Fi services. https://www.ofcom.org.uk/spectrum/innovative-use-of-spectrum/consultation-expanding-access-to-the-6-ghz-band-for-commercial-mobile-and-wi-fi-services
- Ofcom. (2026f). Annual Market Review for Phone-paid Services 2025/26. https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/mobile-phones/annual-market-review-for-phone-paid-services
- Ofcom. (2026g). Clarification to Ofcom's net neutrality guidance on public interest exceptions. https://www.ofcom.org.uk/internet-based-services/network-neutrality/clarification-to-ofcoms-net-neutrality-guidance-on-public-interest-exceptions
- Ofcom. (2026h). What happens when a company doesn't pay a fine. https://www.ofcom.org.uk/online-safety/illegal-and-harmful-content/what-happens-when-a-company-doesnt-pay-a-fine
- Ofcom. (2026i). Telecommunications Market Data Update. https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/telecoms-infrastructure/telecommunications-market-data-update
- Ofcom. (2026j). Statement: Proposal to apply Code powers to Clear Mobitel Ltd. https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/telecoms-infrastructure/proposal-to-apply-code-powers-to-clear-mobitel-ltd
Written by Adrian James, Broadband Editor at BroadbandSwitch.uk (LinkedIn). Reviewed by Dr Alex J. Martin-Smith (LinkedIn). Published 24 July 2026. All charts are built from Ofcom's published data. The funnel showing outcomes per 100 phone owners is our own calculation from Ofcom's percentages and is labelled as such. This guide is information, not advice.