Perth-based internet service provider Westnet has trumped local rivals Amnet and iiNet in taking out the 'Best ISP' prize at the Australian PC Authority Reliability and Service Awards, held in Sydney this week.
PC Authority magazine polled 14,000 technology buyers and consumers from Australasia to determine 'best in breed' for a range of categories covering all aspects of the PC-related product and service marketplace.
It is thought to be the biggest technical survey ever attempted in Australia and is an independent guide to the best technical and telecommunications products and services to buy in 2008.
Companies needed to poll at least 100 votes to be recognised in categories ranging from notebooks and monitors, to wireless routers and service providers.
The awards assessed suppliers in terms of customer service, reliability, value and overall performance.
About 95 per cent of Westnet members surveyed said they were satisfied with its customer support, 95 per cent with its reliability, 76 per cent with value and 93 per cent of members said they would recommend Westnet to a friend.
Westnet was the only ISP to score 6 stars in the Overall category, in which Amnet and iiNet both scored four stars.
Considering its size, Telstra BigPond was one of the worst performing ISP's with two stars overall.
53 per cent of its customers said they were satisfied with customer support, 27 per cent were satisfied with the value on offer and more than half of its customers said they would not recommend BigPond to a friend.
Dodo was the worst performing ISP in the survey, scoring one star in each category.
Westnet chief executive officer Peter Brown said he couldn't be prouder of its staff, agents and members who had helped put it in a winning position.
"This accolade means a huge amount to Westnet as it's driven by real experiences in the marketplace, from customers. We are pleased to perform well in categories representing a broad set of criteria, not just customer service, and will now take it upon ourselves to try to maintain this positive experience felt by our members, so we can continue to delight members and rate strongly next year," he said in a statment.
