Too slow for Netflix – The Caithness village where broadband is worst in UK
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It’s long been suspected that Caithness is on the receiving end of some poor connectivity. Now research from Broadband Genie has backed up that idea.
The broadband provider analysed over 250,000 speed tests from across the country to find out which are the fastest and slowest places in the UK for internet connections.
Superfast broadband (30Mb and over) is currently available to 97 per cent of the country, with more than half of UK homes having access to full-fibre services, and gigabit-capable broadband is available to 75 per cent.
However, the research shows that these numbers drop significantly for rural areas, particularly in the Highlands and Islands.
And it showed that Halkirk is the UK’s slowest area for broadband speed.
Residents of the village received average speeds of just 2.8Mb, slower than you’d get with outdated 3G mobile data - and not enough to watch Netflix.
Meanwhile, Lochwinnoch in Renfrewshire enjoys the fastest broadband speeds in the UK, with an average of 409Mb per household, Broadband Genie said.
In the cities, Belfast came out fastest. Typical speeds for households in the Northern Irish city came in at 152Mb - nearly twice the speed of the Welsh capital, Cardiff (79Mb), 76 per cent faster than London (87Mb) and 58 per cent more than Edinburgh (96Mb).
Canterbury is the UK’s slowest city with average speeds of 34Mb - around the minimum level offered by many basic superfast packages.
The analysis also revealed that 32 cities across the UK fall below the 69.4Mb average speed recorded by the regulator, Ofcom. Broadband Genie suggests that this could be the result of poor or faulty infrastructure, a lack of awareness from consumers on speeds available in their area, or an unwillingness to pay to upgrade.
- Is your broadband just as bad? Send your letters – of up to 300 words – to editor@nosn.co.uk
