Slow Broadband 'hits Many Homes'

A third of homes in the UK have broadband speeds good next the national average, according to investigate from cost more aged site uSwitch.

While half of addresses obtain broadband speeds of 6.7Mbps or above, a third strive to obtain speeds on top of 5Mbps, 1.7m speed tests found.

The East Sussex encampment of Winchelsea was the slowest, with an median speed of 1.1Mbps, according to uSwitch.

Hereford was the slowest city, with median speeds of 3.1Mbps.

The supervision wants to see super-fast broadband as the bullion typical in many UK homes, and has affianced to make the UK the fastest broadband republic in Europe by 2015. By that time, it moreover promises to ensure that all homes have speeds of at least 2Mbps.

The uSwitch information - formed on 1.68 million speed tests carried out over the final 6 months - suggests that there could still be a few way to go.

"Britain might be roving the call of a super-fast broadband revolution, but for 49% who obtain reduction than the national median broadband speed, the call isn't causing so sufficient a dash as a ripple," mentioned Julia Stent, executive of telecoms at uSwitch.

"And what's unequivocally startling is the number of cities and towns such as Hereford and Carlisle that are suffering from slow broadband speeds, dispelling the perspective that it's only farming areas and tiny towns that have problems with their broadband," she added.

Other towns and cities to offer median broadband speeds of next 5Mbps add Kilmarnock (3.2Mbps), Dumfries (3.6Mbps), Canterbury (4Mbps) and Shrewsbury (4Mbps).

The supervision has supposing 530m to help local councils expand in the UK's blackspots. Cumbria, that has several areas in the top 10 slowest postcodes, received the greatest amount, with more than 17m to cope with its 96% of homes authorised for subsidies.

Councils will have to put a few of their own allowance towards the costs, and a few have been slow to obtain the projects off the ground.

For the in well-connected postcodes, the headlines is sufficient better.

Both Virgin Media and BT have not long ago incited up the speed dial on their broadband services.

Virgin voiced that broadband with speeds of up to 100Mbps was right away existing to 10 million homes, whilst BT affianced to offer a few homes speeds of up to 300Mbps by 2013.