City broadband still faster than rural

03 June 2008

Speed in London nearly twice as fast as in rural Britain

Londoners receive broadband speeds up to twice as fast as those received by people living in Wales and Northern Ireland.

Results of a survey published today by thinkbroadband.com showed that people living in London were able to reach download speeds of 4.5 megabits per second (Mbps). In contrast, the average speed achieved by people in Northern Ireland was the slowest in the UK, and almost half that of Londoners, at just 2.3Mbps.

The UK average broadband download speed is 3.2Mbps.

Wales, Scotland and other rural areas in England also showed connection speeds of well below the UK average.

Andrew Ferguson, editor of thinkbroadband.com, said: “Many rural areas and towns don’t have the advanced higher speeds available elsewhere.”

"The technology exists and it's out there. The problem is it costs money and we don't want to pay a lot for our broadband connection," he added.

Download speeds in the UK (from fastest to slowest)

London: 4.46 Mbps

North East: 3.59 Mbps

North West: 3.39 Mbps

East Midlands: 3.28 Mbps

South East: 3.25 Mbps

Yorkshire: 3.20 Mbps

West Midlands: 3.19 Mbps