Broadband Guide

Broadband speed in my area

Updated: Monday 23 January, 2012

By Editorial - news@consumerchoices.co.uk

Although broadband speeds are getting faster, the gap between advertised speeds and what you actually get is bigger according to research by telecoms regulator Ofcom (May 2011).

Where you live is a major factor in the kind of broadband speeds you'll get, but your choice of broadband provider can also make a difference.

ADSL broadband

Copper wire ADSL broadband speeds are affected by distance from the local telephone exchange, so the further away you live, the slower your broadband will usually be.

ADSL broadband can usually be delivered to distances of up to 5km from the exchange - if you live further than this, you might not be able to get a broadband connection at all.

When you sign up to your new provider, you should be given a speed estimate based on your line length - so that you know what kind of speeds you should expect to get.

Ofcom’s research showed that although many ADSL providers now advertise speeds of up to 20Mb or 24Mb broadband, the average actual speed in the UK was just 6.8Mb. But depending on how close you are to your local telephone exchange, you might get more than this - or less if you live in a remote area or are only on an up to 8Mb broadband package.

Some of the UK’s biggest ADSL providers include BT broadband (www.BT.com), O2 broadband (www.O2.co.uk), Plusnet broadband (www.Plus.net), Sky broadband (www.Sky.com) and TalkTalk broadband (www.Talktalk.co.uk).

Cable broadband

Virgin Media (www.Virginmedia.com) uses its cable broadband network to deliver the fastest actual speeds in the country. Ofcom’s research showed that its 10Mb package was averaging 9.5Mb while its 20Mb broadband package was delivering approximately 18.0Mb on average. It also offers an up to 50Mb broadband package and an ultrafast 100Mb broadband package. The provider has also announced that it will be as much as doubling customer's broadband speeds by 2013.

Cable broadband isn’t affected by line distances in the same way as ADSL broadband, which is why you're so much more likely to get a fast, reliable connection.

But Virgin Media’s cable network only covers around 51% of the country - which means that your postcode will still play a huge part in the kind of broadband speeds you can get.

BT has been rolling out its own fibre optic broadband network in what the provider claims is one of the fastest cable network roll-outs in the world. Its BT Infinity packages offer speeds of up to 40Mb and 100Mb broadband and will be available to 40% of the UK by the end of 2012, increasing to two-thirds of the UK by 2014.

Broadband speeds in your area

Use our broadband comparison service to find out exactly which broadband providers and packages are available where you live. You can then ask your chosen supplier for a speed estimate, allowing you to compare different services from different providers.

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