Spam? It's enough to make you switch ISPs

Spam is becoming such a bugbear for internet users they're now prepared to swap their ISP to get away from the nuisance of junk mail.

According to research from analyst house Gartner, given the choice between two ISPs of the same cost where one was better at stopping spam, over half would be tempted to make the switch.

Users' attitudes towards their current ISPs' anti-spam technologies shows a mixed reaction, with seven per cent of those questioned saying their ISP was extremely successful in protecting their inboxes from junk email but over three times as many - 23 per cent - saying theirs didn't succeed at all.

Other analysts, though, suggest that consumers aren't particularly bothered about spam. Earlier this week, Joe Laszlo, senior analysts at Jupiter Research, told the Openwave Messaging Anti-Abuse conference in London that Jupiter had recently asked a group of internet users what factors would encourage them to swap ISP.

Better spam protection only came "a poor fifth" in terms of popularity, with just 11 per cent of people saying it would be the major factor. Price, however, was much more popular with over half of those surveyed saying they would be keen to swap to a cheaper service.

Gartner reckons the spam plague is hurting legitimate email marketers by association.

Because the spammers have taken over and made email 'marketing' their own – 64 per cent of email was made up of spam last month, according to Brightmail – when consumers are confronted by email advertising that doesn't immediately grab them, they peg it as junk email.

It also means the marketers are vying for consumers' attention with the flood tides of spam - trying to make a mark in the few seconds before users reach for the delete option.

Betsy Burton, Gartner senior VP, said companies who used such marketing means without sufficient targeting the recipients were consequently viewed negatively.

It's not surprising that email marketing and spam get tarred with the same brush – approximately one in three households said three-quarters of their email was made up of spam.

ZDNet UK's Graeme Wearden contributed to this report