Many British broadband consumers warned over usage

Many broadband consumers in the UK have been given warnings about their service usage by internet service providers (ISP), new research suggests.

According to a survey of 557 users by ISPreview, around 25 per cent have received a warning from ISPs at some stage regarding service issues.

A further 45 per cent indicated that they would consider switching to a different provider upon receiving such a notice.

Experts at the organisation believe that a large number of bandwidth heavy services currently on offer are contributing to this trend.

Particularly noted online applications include YouTube and BBC's iPlayer, but also gaming platforms such as Xbox Live and Valve Corporation's Steam.

Some ISPs currently impose specific charges for anyone exceeding their download limit, while others tend to reduce the speed available to those users.

In related news, a recent survey of 12,000 consumers by price comparison site uSwitch found that 42 per cent are not satisfied with their broadband service.