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Many urban areas 'fail superfast broadband test' | Many urban areas 'fail superfast broadband test' |
(35 minutes later) | |
Tests on 42 towns and cities across the UK suggest almost half have average broadband speeds below 24Mbps. | Tests on 42 towns and cities across the UK suggest almost half have average broadband speeds below 24Mbps. |
Hull, with an average of 12.4Mbps, is the UK's slowest city, according to comparison site uSwitch, which conducted the tests. | Hull, with an average of 12.4Mbps, is the UK's slowest city, according to comparison site uSwitch, which conducted the tests. |
London and Edinburgh had average speeds of 22.4Mbps and 21Mbps respectively. | London and Edinburgh had average speeds of 22.4Mbps and 21Mbps respectively. |
These speeds are likely to be low not because of lack of availability but because people have chosen not to take up faster services. | These speeds are likely to be low not because of lack of availability but because people have chosen not to take up faster services. |
Government figures suggest superfast broadband - 24Mbps or higher - is now available to more than 90% of homes and businesses, with funding pledged to bring that total to 95% by 2017. | Government figures suggest superfast broadband - 24Mbps or higher - is now available to more than 90% of homes and businesses, with funding pledged to bring that total to 95% by 2017. |
According to BT, its fibre services are available to 24 million home, but only 22% (5.5 million) have connected to them. | According to BT, its fibre services are available to 24 million home, but only 22% (5.5 million) have connected to them. |
Hull is the only UK city not served by BT's Openreach, which controls the telecoms network. Hull's independent supplier, KCOM, disputed the findings. | Hull is the only UK city not served by BT's Openreach, which controls the telecoms network. Hull's independent supplier, KCOM, disputed the findings. |
"We're rolling out ultrafast fibre to the home across Hull and East Yorkshire, which means speeds of 250Mbps are available to consumers right now," said a KCOM spokesman. | "We're rolling out ultrafast fibre to the home across Hull and East Yorkshire, which means speeds of 250Mbps are available to consumers right now," said a KCOM spokesman. |
The company says it is connecting "a new customer to fibre every 30 minutes". | The company says it is connecting "a new customer to fibre every 30 minutes". |
But uSwitch's Ewan Taylor-Gibson said: "Actual speed tests taken by broadband users would suggest this hasn't reached enough homes yet to make an impact on the average." | But uSwitch's Ewan Taylor-Gibson said: "Actual speed tests taken by broadband users would suggest this hasn't reached enough homes yet to make an impact on the average." |
Three in 10 tests logged speeds of less than 5Mbps with just one in 10 registering speeds of above 50Mbps, according to the data. | Three in 10 tests logged speeds of less than 5Mbps with just one in 10 registering speeds of above 50Mbps, according to the data. |
The top 10 | The top 10 |
The bottom 10 | The bottom 10 |
"We should be asking what more can be done to encourage the adoption of superfast broadband now it's so widely available," he said. | "We should be asking what more can be done to encourage the adoption of superfast broadband now it's so widely available," he said. |
"The UK's towns and cities should be leading the charge when it comes to broadband speeds, yet just 22 cities have broadband users with average speeds of more than 24Mbps." | "The UK's towns and cities should be leading the charge when it comes to broadband speeds, yet just 22 cities have broadband users with average speeds of more than 24Mbps." |
Co-founder of broadband news site Thinkbroadband Sebastien Lahtinen said: "Broadband speed tests are a great way to measure real world speeds experienced by users - but they also serve as a measure of take-up, not just availability." | Co-founder of broadband news site Thinkbroadband Sebastien Lahtinen said: "Broadband speed tests are a great way to measure real world speeds experienced by users - but they also serve as a measure of take-up, not just availability." |
"Whilst early adopters and digital natives are often craving for faster and faster services, not everyone wants to stream multiple HD streams live whilst playing online games. | |
Those who just use the Internet for the occasional catch-up TV programme, email and Facebook, broadband speed is not really a priority, especially when the fastest services can cost considerably more." |
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