Poorly set-up networks mean over half a million UK homes are losing around 4Mbps of broadband speed, according to research conducted by TalkTalk.
The ISP claims that over the course of a year British homes will leak over 100 million megabytes of bandwidth capacity, more than enough to power BBC iPlayer continuously for 59 years.
The most common problems found by the firm’s BrightSparks engineers include poor quality wiring (38%), incorrectly reconfigured router (34%) and not fitting the router to the master socket (15%).
“We see thousands of homes wasting broadband width simply because of a poor in home set up.” said TalkTalk BrightSparks engineer Keith Myles.
“People need to think about their broadband in the same way as other utilities such as water and electricity – it’s a commodity that can go to waste if you’re not careful.”
To help customers get the most from their broadband connections, TalkTalk has launched a new one stop shop with advice and tips.
Tristia Harrison, Commercial Director at TalkTalk, said: “The launch of the new service centre is part of TalkTalk’s on-going commitment to improving customers’ experience.
“TalkTalk was recently top rated for broadband, TV and phone packages in the Which? Customer Satisfaction Survey which shows how customers are already benefitting from our efforts.”