EE, the UK’s leading operator, instigated “a major overhaul” of customer service at its fixed broadband service prompted, it admitted, by an “unacceptable, high volume of complaints” compared to industry standards.

The operator embarked on a Broadband Service First campaign, even as it is being acquired by BT, the UK’s fixed incumbent and a leading broadband provider.

“I’m not going to offer any excuses because broadband customer service has simply not been good enough,” conceded Francoise Clemes, EE’s chief customer service officer.

“I promise all of our customers that service is our top priority and, through Broadband Service First, we will fix this,” she added.

EE is implementing a number of measures, including the opening of a new broadband operations hub; employing 500 new, permanent customer service staff; introducing integrated systems to better align processes between mobile and broadband; launching a new digital and social media tool for users; and offering a new broadband customer hotline.

EE is in the process of being acquired by BT, the UK’s fixed incumbent and one of its leading broadband providers. The deal, which faces regulatory scrutiny, is not expected to close until early in 2016. In the meantime, BT and EE are competitors, including in the fixed broadband market.

Clemes said EE had improved customer service for mobile subscribers significantly over the past year. “There’s still more work to do but I’m proud of this record. Our broadband service however continues to fall short of what our customers expect and deserve – but I want to reassure them we’re addressing this as a priority,” she said.

EE’s broadband generated the most complaints across the industry in the first quarter of 2015, in statistics collected by Ofcom. It performed poorly across a number of metrics, including billing, pricing and complaints handling.