How does YOUR town stack up? Report reveals the UK regions with the slowest broadband

It’s a problem that plagues many frustrated Britons, and now a new report has revealed the UK’s areas with the slowest broadband.

Consider Broadband’s State of Broadband report shows that when it comes to full fiber coverage, the City of Kingston upon Hull, Belfast and Coventry District are at the top of the list.

At the other end of the scale, the Isles of Scilly, Orkney and Copeland District are revealed as the bottom authorities for cover.

“As the demand for fast and reliable connectivity continues to grow, it is more important than ever to keep abreast of the latest developments in this ever-evolving industry,” the report states.

Full fibre, also known as fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) broadband, has been described as the ‘next generation internet’.

‘Most fiber optic connections only use these cables up to the street cabinet, with copper connecting the last piece to the home’ Switch explains.

“However, full fiber uses fiber up to the customer’s front door and offers much higher speeds than other fiber connections.”

New figures based on data collected by Think Broadband between February 9 and 13, 2023 show that there is still some way to go in the full rollout of fiber.

Overall in the UK only 47.01 per cent of us have access to full fiber coverage.

This figure is expected to reach 85 percent by July 2025, while we won’t reach 100 percent coverage until July 2026.

However, according to the report, there is a huge difference in FTTP coverage between different regions.

Hull tops the list as the region with the best FTTP coverage (99.73 per cent), followed by Belfast (94.85 per cent) and Coventry (93.07 per cent).

Also in the top 10 are Milton Keynes (92.64 per cent), Morne and Down (90.46 per cent) and Mid and East Antrim (89.65 per cent).

It’s a problem that plagues many frustrated Britons, and now a new report has revealed the UK’s areas with the fastest and slowest broadband

At the other end of the scale, however, the report shows that some Britons live in areas with appalling FTP coverage.

The Isles of Scilly are cited as the region with the worst coverage (2.61 per cent), followed by the Orkneys (2.74 per cent) and Copeland District (3.38 per cent).

Meanwhile, people in Enfield (5.70 per cent), Gosport (5.72 per cent) and Woking (5.32 per cent) are also missing out on FTP coverage.

The report comes shortly after a study found that more than nine million broadband customers don’t believe they’re getting the speeds they pay for.

Research found that a quarter of all customers surveyed said they regularly don’t get the internet speeds they should, while seven percent say they never do.

Despite this, only about half (46 percent) of affected customers said they requested reimbursement from their provider, according to comparison and switching service Uswitch.com.

Ofcom’s Broadband Speed ​​Code of Conduct, which most companies have signed up to, states that an internet provider must provide a minimum guaranteed speed for the service at the time of signing up, which customers can find in their contract.

WHERE ARE THE WORST PLACES FOR 4G & BROADBAND IN THE UK?

According to consumer rights advocate Which? Scotland and Wales suffer the most from both poor broadband connections and limited 4G coverage.

Constituencies consisting mainly of urban areas were also particularly affected, including parts of Canterbury, Macclesfield, Maidstone, Norfolk, Southampton, Surrey and York.

These were joined by many seaside towns – including Dover, Cleethorpes, Great Yarmouth, Scarborough, Totnes and Whitby.

The Highlands and Islands were the hardest hit parts of Scotland, with the Nah-Eileanan constituency the worst served with just 42 per cent of properties covered by all four network operators and only 81 per cent with a decent broadband connection.

In Wales, the constituency of Dwyfor Meirionnydd was worst off, with only 69 per cent of properties having 4G coverage from all four network operators and only 91 per cent having a decent broadband connection.

Meanwhile, Northern Island was also poorly served – particularly in urban areas – with Armagh and Newry worst affected, with only 82 per cent of properties affected.

According to consumer rights advocate Which? Scotland and Wales suffer the most from both poor broadband connections and limited 4G coverage