Residents on a street in Wales and another in Essex have the slowest broadband speeds in the entire United Kingdom, based on a report by uSwitch.
In a six-month online comparison poll of more than two million speed testers, uSwitch discovered that Erw Fawr in Henryd, Wales and Wheatley Road in Corringham, Essex tie for last place, both having an average download speed of 0.60 Mbps. This is a mere fraction of the national average of 17.8 Mbps.
uSwitch found the fastest broadband speed on Loundes Street in Unstone, Derybshire, which registered an average download speed of 57.58 Mbps, 96 times faster than the slowest speed.
By comparison, it takes around 15 hours to download a high-definition movie on the two slowest streets, while users can download and watch the same movie on Loundes Street in only nine minutes.
The uSwitch report also noted that only 15% of the British population have access to 30 Mbps broadband, what the European Union classifies as superfast broadband. Although the Ofcom reported that 73% of Britons now have access to superfast Internet, uSwitch believes only 9% are actually using it.
"More needs to be done to increase awareness of availability and cost. Superfast broadband isn't as expensive as some users might think, with prices starting at £16 per month plus £15 for the line rental. Paying line rental upfront can result in savings of around £50 per year and many of the providers have introductory offers. So, for households in the slow lane, superfast broadband could be well worth considering," suggests Marie-Louise Abretti, a broadband expert at uSwitch.
Abretti believes superfast broadband should be grouped with water, gas and electricity as a utility service and cites its importance in local business, real estate and education. She believes that the UK government should be responsible for overseeing the improvement of the country's broadband infrastructure, especially in rural areas.
Users who are not happy with their snail-pace broadband speeds must continue to conduct regular speed testing and compare results with other local testers who have different Internet providers, Abretti suggested. This will help users find providers offering faster connectivity to their customers.
However, the Cotswold Broadband Group believes that upgrading to superfast broadband may not be immediate.
"70% want superfast broadband, that shows the demand is there. But if they are in a contract with an Internet provider, they can't just step out of it so people shouldn't be surprised that take-up rates don't suddenly leap up. It takes a while for it to filter through," Hugo Pickering, founder of the Cotswold Group, told the Oxford Mail.
