NEW research from comparethemarket.com today reveals the areas in the UK where broadband speed has improved the most over the last twelve months and which locations have the fastest download speeds.

The research analyses the average broadband speed for locations around the UK, including all London boroughs, between 2018 and 2019, to discover where internet connectivity has improved the most. As well as revealing where the biggest improvements have been made, the research identifies the areas where broadband falls below USO (Universal Service Obligation) standards.

The research can be seen in full here: https://www.comparethemarket.com/broadband/content/british-broadband-index/

Holly Niblett, Head of Digital at comparethemarket.com commented: “With the UK on lockdown, internet connectivity is more important than ever, whether it be for working from home or streaming movies and TV shows. While it is encouraging that broadband speed has improved in some parts of the country, there is still some way to go.

“Whilst the government recently pledged to increase broadband infrastructure spending, there are still hundreds of thousands of homes without decent broadband and the vast majority of these are in remote areas. With a significant number of people now working from home, lack of connectivity could be a serious cause for concern.

“If you find your connection is too slow, or you don’t have the capacity you need, you might want to consider upgrading to a new package or switching provider. While many broadband switches remain unaffected by the coronavirus outbreak, if yours requires an engineer visit, you may face a delay. This is because Openreach is prioritising repair and maintenance services that support critical infrastructure. Switches which typically require an engineer include those to/from Virgin Media and BT Ultrafast broadband, but it is worth checking with the individual provider.”

Areas with the biggest improvements (outside of London)

Hull in Yorkshire takes the top spot for improvements, with a 54.9Mbit/s increase from 2018. One of the reasons for this could be that Hull has an entirely independent telecoms network.

Seven of the top ten areas where broadband has improved are located further south, with just two northern areas in the top ten.

At the other end of the scale, the research identified four areas where broadband speed had dropped over the past twelve months. These were Daventry (-14.7Mbit/s), Babergh (-7.5Mbit/s), Folkestone & Hythe (-6.3Mbit/s) and Wiltshire (-2.5Mbit/s).