Broadband Guide

Fastest UK broadband revealed

Monday 28 May, 2012

By Helen Thomas

Broadband speeds have been increasing year on year, and average speeds now stand at 7.6Mb, according to regulator Ofcom.

Average broadband speeds

Although speeds have been improving, the 11% increase actually only equates to 0.8Mb faster than was recorded in Ofcom tests six months before.

The regulator grouped packages based on their top headline speeds - and here’s how providers performed over a 24-hour period:

These tables make clear the huge differences in speeds delivered by different packages and providers - though most crucially - by different types of technology.

Ofcom’s latest research, published in November 2011, ran a massive 572 million speed tests at over 1,700 homes across the country. It found that 58% of UK residential broadband connections have a headline speed above 10Mb - up 10% compared with 48% in May 2011.

Researchers also found that although some 57% of homes are now within a superfast broadband area, three-quarters still use traditional copper wire lines - which are subject to speed loss over distances.

Advertised speeds vs actual speeds

The gap between what is advertised and the speed you actually get was larger than ever. According to Ofcom, “differences between headline and actual speeds are often caused by broadband being delivered over copper lines which were originally designed for phone calls; hence speeds slow down over long and poor quality lines, and because of electrical interference.”

Providers deliver around 45% of their advertised speed - six months ago there was a 7.6Mb difference between the average advertised and actual speeds and today this has grown to a gap of 8.2Mb.

The fastest broadband

But you don’t have to suffer slow broadband speeds. Using its fibre optic cable network, Virgin Media (www.Virginmedia.com) says that it can deliver 90% of its advertised speed - a claim backed up by Ofcom’s research. Its 30Mb cable package was even faster than the headline speed, averaging 31Mb.

Because its speeds aren’t affected by distance from the exchange, Virgin Media managed to deliver an average of 9.5Mb on its 10Mb package - compared to an average of just 7.6Mb from ADSL providers’ 20Mb and 24Mb packages, despite headline speeds twice as fast as Virgin Media’s lowest cable tariff.

Virgin Media also offers a 50Mb broadband package, which averaged 48Mb - or 97% - of its advertised speed. Virgin's 100Mb service roll-out will be completed across its network this year.

Virgin Media is also upgrading customers on 50Mb and 100Mb packages to speeds of 120Mb by 2013.

BT claims that roll-out of its fibre network - offering up to 38Mb, 76Mb and 100Mb broadband - is one of the fastest in the world. BT Infinity fibre packages will be available to more than 40% of the UK by the end of 2012 and to two-thirds of the population by 2014.

Its 40Mb broadband package delivers average speeds of 36Mb according to Ofcom.

BT's 76Mb fibre package offers upload speeds of up to 19Mb.

Since Ofcom's last round of speed tests a number of ISP's have also launched fibre products on to the market. Joining the superfast broadband providers are: Sky, TalkTalk and Plusnet.

The fastest copper broadband

Although, according to Ofcom, Virgin Media offers the fastest actual speeds in the country, its cable network isn’t available everywhere. It covers around half the country, while BT is aiming to cover two-thirds of the UK with its Infinity network by 2014.

Even if you don’t have access to a superfast broadband package, a bit of research will highlight which copper wire provider performs best.

O2 and BE, which share a network, topped Ofcom’s latest speed study of ADSL providers, which account for the majority of broadband connections. As well as delivering the fastest speeds over a 24-hour period, O2 and BE still performed reasonably during peak times, managing to get 98% of their maximum actual speed.

If you are thinking about switching, you also need to think about your download allowance when choosing a package. Though more expensive, BE rarely implements its fair usage policy and doesn’t use traffic management - perfect for heavy downloaders or families sharing their connection.

These two providers were the only ADSL suppliers to average over 10Mb, followed by BT, Plusnet and TalkTalk.

Fastest broadband in my area

Before signing up to your chosen broadband provider you need to check what’s available in your area.

Virgin Media’s superfast broadband packages are only available through its cable network, which covers around 51% of the country. While this means that some 13 million people can access faster broadband speeds, if you don’t live in a cable area you won’t be able to get a Virgin Media fibre broadband package.

And because BT hasn’t completed its Infinity roll out, you might not be able to sign-up yet - but you can check when it will be available by entering your postcode on the BT Infinity website (www.BT.com/Infinity).

Many other providers also use their own local loop unbundled (LLU) networks to deliver cheaper, faster broadband. But again, this means that your postcode might restrict your choice of broadband provider.

Run a postcode search from our homepage to find the fastest broadband in your area.

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