BROADBAND outages hitting the UK’s home workers have cost the economy £1.3 billion over the past year, according to a Uswitch.com report.

Nearly 11 million were affected by an internet outage which left them offline for three hours or more in the last 12 months.

One in seven who reported a significant outage say it stopped them working from home, and those affected lost on average nearly two days of internet service during the year.

Those experiencing outages in Yorkshire were better off than the country as a whole, however, being offline due to an outage for an average of just 14 hours in the last 12 months, compared to the national average of 25.16 hours.

20 per cent of home workers in Yorkshire said an outage had prevented them from doing their job, but Yorkshire’s broadband users were one of the least likely to complain about an outage – at 36 per cent, compared with the national average of 52 per cent.

Ernest Doku, broadband expert at Uswitch.com, comments: “Misfiring home broadband can quickly become a huge annoyance.

“When people reach the point that their bosses are commenting on their connection issues, it’s time to consider an upgrade.”