Third of Britons say internet performance has been WORSE during the coronavirus lockdown

People say their broadband speeds have been worse during coronavirus lockdown, despite the providers claiming they’ve managed the surge in demand well.

According to a YouGov survey, 28 per cent have noticed their internet connection has become slightly worse than usual, while 7 per cent said it was much worse.

It comes as three quarters of those questioned claimed they were going online more heavily due to lockdown, including working, going to school and staying in touch. 

Last month, analysis by regulator Ofcom suggested that download speeds have only fallen by an average of 2 per cent since lockdown began in the UK. 

According to the YouGov survey 69 per cent of people who experienced connectivity issues said it affected general online activities.

A similar percentage said they had problems with internet steaming and 59 per cent had issues making internet video calls due to connection problems.

Just over half of the 2,301 people questioned said they had problems completing work-related tasks as a result of connection problems. 

However, over half – 57 per cent – of participants questioned said they noticed no change in the performance of their home internet connection.

‘New YouGov research shows that the internet had become even more important to daily life during the coronavirus lockdown,’ said Olivia Bonito from YouGov. 

‘Of course this means that many are now using their internet much more than usual but a significant proportion – a third – are experiencing worse internet performance than they did prior to the lockdown,’ she said.

Difficulty accessing stable internet may get worse as the number of people in a household increases – suggesting performance is impacted by demand.

‘While many might be able to cope in the short term, it could start to affect productivity if working from home becomes the ‘new normal’,’ said Bonito. 

According to Ofcom average broadband speeds have held up but people’s connections have been under much higher demand.

This demand comes from home working and home schooling.

A spokesperson for Ofcom said this increase in demand ‘can mean some services slow down even on a good connection’.

‘So we’re providing a range of practical tips on how people can get the most from their broadband and stay connected during the lockdown.’

The regulator published seven tips for staying connected during the lockdown on its website including doing regular speed checks on your connection. 

Ofcom’s seven tips include only using landlines or wifi to make phone calls – rather than clog up the mobile network with voice calls and keeping broadband routers away from other wireless devices such as TVs, speakers and baby monitors.

The regulator said this would help people ‘whether it’s for video streaming, virtual meetings or voice calls.’

‘Broadband and mobile networks are under increased demand because of the coronavirus (Covid-19),’ Ofcom wrote in a blog post.

‘We can all play our part in helping to manage how we use our connections.’