We’ve all been there: you go to download a movie or listen to a song, only to be faced by the dreaded “spinning wheel of death.”
Many Brits have to deal with slow broadband speeds, and new data has revealed which cities have the poorest connections.
Broadband Genie consumer speed testing reveal that Canterbury has the slowest average speeds, closely followed by Ripon and Chester.
According to the survey, persons in Belfast, Portsmouth, and Milton Keynes had the fastest average speeds.
‘No broadband client should accept subpar service, especially in a year when the sector has experienced record price rises,’ said Alex Tofts, broadband specialist at Broadband Genie.
In the study, Broadband Genie analysed 265,572 consumer speed tests from across the UK.
At a city level, Canterbury came in at the bottom of the list, with residents experiencing average speeds of just 34.4Mb.
This was followed by Ripon (39.9Mb), Chester (43.6Mb), Carlisle (46Mb), and Worcester (46.9Mb).
At the other end of the spectrum, Belfast was at the top of the list, with average speeds of 152Mb.
Portsmouth (122Mb) wasn’t far behind, along with Milton Keynes (117.2Mb), Derry (114.9), and Plymouth (109.5Mb).
Check out the average speeds for all UK cities here:
Average broadband speeds in UK cities (Mbs)
- Canterbury 34.3
- Ripon 39.9
- Chester 43.6
- Carlisle 46
- Worcester 46.9
- Wakefield 47.1
- Newport 48.2
- Norwich 48.8
- Wells 49.3
- Durham 49.3
- Truro 50.8
- Chichester 51.2
- Wrexham 51.7
- Armagh 51.8
- Lancaster 53.2
- Inverness 53.6
- Colchester 53.6
- Perth 54.2
- Sheffield 54.7
- Swansea 55.8
- Newry 57
- Winchester 57.1
- Doncaster 58.3
- Aberdeen 58.3
- Bath 58.6
- Sunderland 59.4
- Salford 61.3
- Exeter 63.2
- Newcastle upon Tyne 63.2
- Dunfermline 64.9
- Hereford 65
- Oxford 65.8
- Birmingham 66
- Chelmsford 66.6
- Bangor 67
- Leeds 67.5
- Bradford 68.1
- Brighton 69
- Leicester 70.4
- Gloucester 71
- Preston 71.3
- Ely 73.5
- Peterborough 74.1
- Manchester 75
- Lisburn 78.6
- Salisbury 78.8
- Dundee 78.9
- Cardiff 79.2
- Bristol 79.6
- Cambridge 80.5
- Glasgow 82.6
- Lichfield 83.4
- Lincoln 83.5
- Stoke-on-Trent 84.3
- Liverpool 85.5
- Derby 85.9
- London 86.7
- Nottingham 90
- St Albans 91.1
- Wolverhampton 92.2
- Hull 94.9
- Coventry 95.1
- Edinburgh 96.3
- York 97.3
- Southampton 103.4
- Southend-on-Sea 104.4
- Plymouth 109.5
- Londonderry 114.9
- Milton Keynes 117.2
- Portsmouth 122
- Belfast 152.2
Meanwhile, across all areas of the UK, the village of Halkirk in Caithness was named the slowest area, with residents receiving average speeds of just 2.8Mb.
For reference, Ofcom advises that 10Mb is the minimum ‘decent’ speed homes should receive.
In contrast, Lochwinnoch in Renfrewshire enjoys the fastest broadband speeds in the UK, with an impressive average of 409Mb per household.
‘Most of Britain’s biggest providers sign up to Ofcom’s Broadband Speeds Code of Practice,’ Mr Tufts said.
‘This means they have to be clear about the speeds you should expect at your address, including a guaranteed minimum they must keep above.
‘Speed tests are a useful tool for regularly monitoring the performance you are receiving. If they are falling short of what has been promised, contact your provider and raise the issue.