UK's worst street for broadband is 5,330 times slower than the fastest
The slowest broadband in the UK, with an average download speed of 0.12Mbps, is found in Queens Road, Weybridge in Surrey, according to analysis of a record-breaking 398,973 consumer speed tests collated by Uswitch.com, the comparison and switching service.
Sluggish-paced Queens Road is a staggering 5,330 times slower than the UK’s fastest street, Dale Lane in Appleton, Cheshire, where average speeds reached 639.67Mbps over the past year[2].
Last year the worst street was only 830 times slower than the fastest street[3], suggesting that Britain’s digital divide is growing with the rollout of full fibre broadband (FTTP) that is bringing ultrafast speeds to parts of the country[5].
It would take the unfortunate residents of Queens Road more than 119 hours to download a two-hour HD film and at least 44 hours to download a 45-minute HD TV show. By contrast, the people of Dale Lane would take just one minute and 20 seconds to download the same film or a mere 30 seconds to download the same show[6].
The slowest and fastest UK streets have been revealed by more than 398,973 ‘real world’ speed tests run by broadband users over the last year. The number of speed tests is up 225% on last year’s tally of 122,845, with the dramatic rise suggesting that consumers have been paying closer attention to the performance of their home broadband during lockdown[3].
The good news is that the number of broadband users enjoying faster speeds is growing. More than half of users (54%) now get speeds of more than 30Mbps, up from under a quarter (22%) five years ago[7]. But despite the fact that superfast broadband (downloads speeds of 30Mbps or more) is available to 95%[8] of the country, a recent Uswitch survey found that only six in ten (60%) believe they can access it in their local area[9].
For many, it’s a story of the broadband haves and have-nots living side by side. In Surrey, residents on Woodcote Lane, Purley, enjoy ultrafast speeds of 206.45Mbps, while one of the country’s worst streets, Spencer Road in Caterham, is just 17 minutes’ drive away — with download times 372 times slower at 0.55Mbps[10].
Further reinforcing a lack of awareness of the faster speeds available, of the ten slowest streets, seven (70%)[4] have access to a quicker service, suggesting that consumers are being deprived of better broadband simply because they aren’t checking.
Table - UK’s ten slowest streets for broadband
1 Queens Road, Weybridge, Surrey Average download speed (Mbps) 0.12
2 Hatchett Road, Feltham, Hounslow, London Average download speed (Mbps) 0.38
3 Monkton, Honiton, Exeter, Devon Average download speed (Mbps) 0.45
4 Church Street, Great Maplestead, Halstead, Essex Average download speed (Mbps) 0.47
5 Limmer Close, Wokingham, Berkshire Average download speed (Mbps) 0.48
6 Waterley Bottom, North Nibley, Dursley, Gloucestershire Average download speed (Mbps) 0.49
7 Spencer Road, Caterham, Surrey Average download speed (Mbps) 0.55
8 Ringhaddy Road, Killinchy, Newtownards, Northern Ireland Average download speed (Mbps) 0.62
9 Fishtoft Drove, Frithville, Boston, Lincolnshire Average download speed (Mbps) 0.66
10 Sopwith Crescent, Wimborne, Dorset Average download speed (Mbps) 0.67
Source: Uswitch.com
UK’s ten fastest streets for broadband
1 Dale Lane, Appleton, Warrington, Cheshire Average download speed (Mbps) 639.67
2 Longhedge, Caldecotte, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire Average download speed (Mbps) 568.18
3 Old Ballynahinch Road, Lisburn, Northern Ireland Average download speed (Mbps) 563.85
4 Montvale Gardens, Leicester, Leicestershire Average download speed (Mbps) 452.02
5 Mill Close, Henlow, Bedfordshire Average download speed (Mbps) 360.59
6 York Road, Guildford, Surrey Average download speed (Mbps) 352.67
7 Chapel Road, Oldbury-on-Severn, Gloucestershire Average download speed (Mbps) 284.92
8 Woodcroft Road, Liverpool, Merseyside Average download speed (Mbps) 282.21
9 Cairn Wynd, Inverurie, Scotland Average download speed (Mbps) 276.40
10 Sandy Hamilton Place, Inverurie, Scotland Average download speed (Mbps) 253.17
Source: Uswitch.com
Ernest Doku, broadband expert at Uswitch.com, says: “The digital divide that runs through Britain has grown dramatically in the last year, with the fastest street’s broadband more than 5,000 times quicker than the slowest’s.
“It’s interesting to see that the North claims the fastest street this year, while the slowest street is in the South East, showing that the speed of your connection has nothing to do with where you live.
“It’s great that more of us are enjoying ultrafast broadband, but we don’t want to see large swathes of the country left behind on shoddy connections that aren’t suitable for modern life.
“With millions of us working from home and watching more streaming TV at the moment, a good broadband connection is more important than ever.
“One of the biggest obstacles stopping people from getting faster downloads speeds is the lack of awareness regarding superfast and ultrafast broadband.
“For example, some people on the UK’s fastest street, Dale Lane, enjoy speeds above 900Mbps, while others only get 5.5Mbps.
“And of the ten slowest streets, seven could have access to faster broadband, so we urge residents there — and anyone else unhappy with their broadband speeds — to do a quick check online to see what speeds they could be getting.”
