UK broadband speed increases

THERE has been a noticeable improvement in home broadband, in reference to an annual survey by the UK’s communications watchdog Ofcom.

Ofcom said that average fixed-line download speeds rose by 28% over the year to 46.2 megabits per second, while uploads gained by 44% to 6.2 Mbps.

It further stated that the typical household now consumed 190 gigabytes of data a month, in large part due to the use of Netflix and other streamed TV services.

However, rural consumers still lag behind.

Ofcom asserted that, in urban areas, 59% of connections delivered average speeds topping 30 Mbps over the 20:00-22:00 peak-time period – meeting the watchdog’s definition of “superfast” – while 17% were under 10 Mbps. But in rural areas, only 23% of connections surpassed 30 Mbps over the same hours, while 53% were under 10 Mbps.

The regulator added that essential reasons for the discrepancy were due to less availability and decreased take-up of cable and fibre services in the countryside.