O2 and Virgin Media the Big Winners at Broadband Awards

CAMBRIDGE, England, January 31, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

- Inaugural Broadband Genie Awards Also see Plusnet, BE and BT Gain Top Accolades

O2 and Virgin Media took two awards each of the seven on offer in the first Broadbandgenie.co.uk Home Broadband Awards, announced today.

O2 was awarded Best Broadband Provider 2011, as well as the Best Broadband Support Award. Both awards used independent data provided by OnePoll, which surveyed more than 3,000 customers across all of the UK's leading broadband suppliers.

Felix Geyr, managing director of O2 Home and Broadband, said: "I am delighted O2 has won these awards from Broadband Genie. When we re-launched our packages last year we wanted customers to see that we were serious about improving the quality of service and experience they receive from their ISP. These awards are proof that by having a quality product, first-class customer service and excellent technical support we are doing what we set out to achieve."

Virgin Media landed both Fastest Broadband Provider and Best Bundled Broadband. The Fastest Provider award used data from almost 40,000 speed tests from http://www.broadbandgenie.co.uk - in partnership with Think Broadband. Best Bundled Broadband was voted for by a panel of industry experts, as were Best Budget Broadband (won by Plusnet) and Most Innovative Provider (BE Broadband).

The final award, Most Anticipated Product 2011, was voted for by more than 1,500 participants in a poll on the Broadband Genie website. This was won by BT, for the continuing roll-out of fibre broadband across the UK. John Petter, managing director of BT's consumer division, said: "BT is delighted to win this award, our customers are telling us that BT Infinity transforms their experience of the internet. We are always striving to give our customers the best products and services and as part of this we are committed to rolling out super-fast broadband across the UK."

Meanwhile Chris Stening, managing director of BE Broadband, commented: "We're delighted to be awarded Most Innovative Provider 2011 at Broadband Genie Home Broadband Awards. We're also extremely pleased to hear that BE got some of the highest customer ratings, as we are focused on giving them the best broadband experience possible."

Speaking on its Best Budget Broadband award, Jamie Ford, CEO of Plusnet, said: "It's fantastic to see our unbeatable price promise is being acknowledged. We're committed to providing good honest broadband, and we're thrilled to be recognised for our great prices, complementing our award winning service."

Commenting on the awards, Broadband Genie editor Chris Marling said: "We spend every day comparing broadband products, advising consumers on how best to find the right deals and listening to their feedback, so these awards seemed like an obvious next step.

"We hope the variety and depth of our research for the awards will put them on the map as an important yearly indicator of which ISPs are performing above and beyond in home broadband ( http://www.broadbandgenie.co.uk/broadband/home). The reaction of the providers who have triumphed speaks for itself, while we hope other companies will strive to improve their quality to offer an ever improving range of offers that give consumers both value for money and high standards of service, speed and reliability."

Hi res images of all the awards available on request.

For the full results, including runners-up, visit: http://www.broadbandgenie.co.uk/broadband/awards

For full analysis, judging criteria etc: http://www.broadbandgenie.co.uk/blog/20110121-broadband-awards-2011-analysis

NOTES TO EDITORS

1. Broadband Genie is the UK's leading independent broadband and smartphone comparison website, providing an unbiased source of information on prices and contracts and allowing consumers to compare providers in an independent environment. Broadband Genie was launched in March 2004 as the first dedicated consumer comparison site for broadband, while Mobile Broadband Genie was the first independent mobile broadband comparison site, launched in October 2007. The sites were combined in 2010, with the addition of smartphone comparison. The site is one of the most popular in its field, regularly featuring in the national press. http://www.broadbandgenie.co.uk

2. All queries and interview requests should be directed to Chris Marling at Broadband Genie: chris.marling@broadbandgenie.co.uk