The UK areas with the fastest broadband speeds
The top 10 local authorities with the UK’s fastest average broadband speed can be found in England.
The UK areas with the fastest broadband speeds have been revealed.
A new report has shown those living in Southampton have the fastest broadband speeds in the country, with an average of 166.68Mbps.
They enjoyed a service that was more than double the UK’s average urban broadband speed (81Mbps), according to a study from Uswitch.com.
Stockton-on-Tees was the second highest and had the fastest broadband of any local authority in the North East, averaging 166.36Mbps.
Third on the list and the top-ranking area in London was Newham, with download speeds of 157.80Mbps.
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The top 10 local authorities with the UK’s fastest average broadband speed could be found in England and 15 in total had download speeds surpassing 150Mbps.
The report also revealed connections were quicker in Edinburgh (136.27Mbps) and Cardiff (122.92Mbps) than in Westminster (110.70Mbps).
Slough had the second-highest broadband speeds in the South East at 155.33Mbps, which placed it ninth.
County Durham (115.94Mbps) was 43% slower than Stockton-on-Tees despite being neighbouring local authorities.
Local authorities with the fastest broadband speeds
Southampton – 166.68Mbps
Stockton-on-Tees – 166.36Mbps
Newham (London) – 157.80Mbps
Coventry – 157.65Mbps
Peterborough – 157.51Mbps
Barking and Dagenham (London) – 156.60Mbps
Middlesborough – 155.67Mbps
Swindon – 155.38Mbps
Slough –155.33Mbps
Nottingham – 154.74Mbps
Comparison website Uswitch analysed speed data in local authorities across the country to find the areas with the quickest connections across the UK.
An average 19,494 tests were conducted in each local authority in the second quarter of last year.
The report comes after Ofcom launched a review of inflation linked phone and broadband price rises that hit customers mid-contract amid concerns they were “unclear and unpredictable”.
The telecoms regulator said it was concerned about the “degree of uncertainty” consumers faced over future price rises specified in contracts on the basis of inflation.
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The move follows consumer groups urging broadband firms to drop penalties for customers leaving mid-contract because of fears of impending “exorbitant” price rises or exit fees of more than £200.
Millions of broadband and mobile phone customers can expect to face monthly bill increases of at least 14% from April due to high inflation.
Meanwhile, the government has made a target for gigabit broadband ( download speeds of at least 1 gigabit-per-second) to be available nationwide by 2030.
It can be delivered in various ways, including full-fibre connections, high-speed cable broadband and potentially 5G networks.
In December, an Ofcom report showed that 42% of UK homes – around 12 million properties – now have access to a full-fibre connection, and 70% could receive a hyper-fast gigabit-capable connection, up from 47% last year.
