In terms of quality of service of broadband connection, Virgin and Vodafone are the leaders of the pack, according to a recent awards ceremony, highlighting the best options for small businesses in IT.

The Top 10 Broadband Awards gave the gongs out this week after a detailed survey with 1.5 million customer ratings and 400,000 speed tests.

Virgin Media was given Broadband Innovation prize for its 50Mb line while Vodafone got the Best Rated Mobile Broadband existing customer popularity.

Director at Top 10 Broadband Alex Buttle said: "The last 12 months have seen huge changes in the broadband market and it is clear most Brits are getting more broadband choice and better broadband service than ever before.

He added that the award ceremony demonstrated just how competitive the broadband market had been during the year.

Other awards went to a number of other companies, with O2 picking up the best rated home broadband and the best value mobile broadband award being given to 3.

A recent Connect survey found that the two major concerns about outsourcing services like IT support were 'loss of control' (56 per cent) and 'budget over-runs' (43 per cent).