Small providers win big at the uswitch telecoms awards 2025

• Top broadband awards go to Plusnet for National Broadband Provider of the Year and YouFibre for Regional Broadband Provider of the Year. giffgaff was voted Mobile Network of the Year
• Reliability is the leading factor for choosing a broadband package (51%), with a low monthly cost coming second (48%)^[2]
• For mobile plans, monthly cost is customers’ top consideration and almost half (47%) said a price rise would make them likely to switch providers^[3]
• Hyperoptic scooped the award for Best Telecoms Innovation for its ‘Managed Wi-Fi Solution’
• Uswitch Telecoms Awards Winners 2025 are announced today, showcasing the best in broadband, mobile and TV services for price, popularity, customer service and more

Plusnet has been crowned Broadband Provider of the Year for the third year running, while giffgaff earned the title of Mobile Network of the Year at the 2025 Uswitch Telecoms Awards. Based on feedback from over 20,000 mobile and broadband customers^[1], the awards recognise the telecom providers that excelled across several different categories over the past 12 months, including value, reliability and customer service.

In the regional broadband category, YouFibre was awarded Regional Provider of the Year, recognising the smaller, local provider’s commitment to affordable and reliable full fibre deals.

Reliability and low monthly cost remain top priority for consumers

With price rises on the horizon for many, low monthly cost was considered the most important factor for mobile customers when choosing a new plan. Almost half (47%) said a price rise would make them likely to switch providers and other top reasons included poor quality network coverage (49%) and a competitor with a better price (39%)^[3].

In value for money, VOXI was the big winner in mobiles, scooping Best Value for Money Mobile Provider for 2025. Known for its flexible monthly plans and unlimited social media offering, the provider, owned by Vodafone and uses its network, also offers free EU roaming and commits to no mid-contract price rises.

The majority (51%) of broadband customers regard reliability as the top priority when choosing a service, followed closely by low monthly cost (48%) and speed (46%)^[2]. This was reflected in their reasons for changing providers too, with half of broadband customers (50%) saying a poor quality connection would convince them to switch, and 48% saying a price rise would^[4].

2025’s awards saw Virgin Media scoop the Most Reliable Broadband Provider - powered by Opensignal accolade. Determined using data from Opensignal, the telecoms analytics company, devices using Virgin Media’s network came out top in their ability to connect to the internet and to complete a range of online tasks 'uninterrupted'. 

Low monthly cost was also the leading factor for customers choosing a TV package provider and was almost a third (31%) more important to customers than the quality of TV content^[5]. For the second consecutive year, EE was awarded Telecoms Bundle Provider of the Year, praised by an expert panel of judges for its competitively priced and seamless offering of broadband, mobile and TV. 

Smaller, regional providers have high customer satisfaction 

For overall customer satisfaction, newer regional providers like Hyperoptic, YouFibre, and Zen Internet emerged as top performers. Notably, three-quarters (76%) of YouFibre customers, the winner of Regional Broadband Provider, said they would recommend the service to a friend^[6].

Regional providers also led the way in innovation this year, with Hyperoptic scooping the award for Best Telecoms Innovation. The provider won for its ‘Managed Wi-Fi solution’, an invention that redefined connectivity in its ability to onboard development residents as soon as they move in, making Wi-Fi issues a thing of the past.

Ernest Doku, telecoms expert at Uswitch.com, comments: “With household bills rising across the board next month, it’s unsurprising that low monthly costs are a key deciding factor for many customers when choosing a broadband or mobile package. Reliability of services also remains important for customers - no one wants to face interruptions or slow speeds when working from home or streaming their favourite TV show.

“It’s great to see smaller and regional providers continue to make waves in the industry, with companies like YouFibre and Hyperoptic showing that customers will happily move away from the bigger names if they get better service at a lower price elsewhere. More competition in the market is a good thing for consumers because it encourages all providers to continuously offer the best service,

“Whilst price rises will start taking effect from the end of the month for many mobile and broadband customers, there is still hope for consumers to get a good deal. Whether you’re looking for stand-out customer service or a good roaming package, our 2025 awards show there are plenty of providers offering great service. 

“If you are looking to switch it only takes a few minutes to run a comparison and see what these providers have to offer.”

The full list of broadband, mobile, and TV winners for the Uswitch Telecoms Awards 2025 can be found here.