wraggster
August 9th, 2011, 21:44
Be Broadband praised and BT slammed as average UK download speed found to be just 481KBps.http://media.next-gen.biz/files/imagecache/article/articles/news/pando_2.jpg
Broadband speeds across the UK were revealed today to be on average far slower than advertised, with the nation's average download rate barely half of the average available maximum.
The research, conducted by speed optimisation firm Pando Networks, found that the average UK download speed was just 481KBps. Be Broadband was the outstanding performer, leading the way both in its average speed of 594KBps and completion rate of 84 per cent.
Of the other main UK ISPs, Sky performed reasonably well, with an above-average 534KBps, and Virgin did likewise, with 552KBps. Talk Talk served up a lukewarm 450KBps, but the worst performer of all was BT, with speeds of just 399KBps, and a lamentable completion rate of 77 per cent.
Of course, speeds varied greatly across the country, and Pando found that the three fastest places in the UK were Brighton (1,010KBps), Ware (909KBps) and Stevenage (805KBps). The worst broadband speeds in the country were found in Stanford-on-Avon in Northamptonshire, with an average of just 130KBps.
The study, carried out by tracking the speeds of more than 400,000 users downloading games and patches during the first six months of this year, highlights the disparity between the broadband speeds advertised by ISPs and those actually experienced by their customers.
A recent study by UK telecoms regulator Ofcom (http://www.next-gen.biz/news/ofcom-highlights-uk-broadband-disparity) found that the average maximum speed of UK broadband connections was 7.5Mbps; the above shows that the reality is just over half of that, at 3.85Mbps.
Broadband speeds across the UK were revealed today to be on average far slower than advertised, with the nation's average download rate barely half of the average available maximum.
The research, conducted by speed optimisation firm Pando Networks, found that the average UK download speed was just 481KBps. Be Broadband was the outstanding performer, leading the way both in its average speed of 594KBps and completion rate of 84 per cent.
Of the other main UK ISPs, Sky performed reasonably well, with an above-average 534KBps, and Virgin did likewise, with 552KBps. Talk Talk served up a lukewarm 450KBps, but the worst performer of all was BT, with speeds of just 399KBps, and a lamentable completion rate of 77 per cent.
Of course, speeds varied greatly across the country, and Pando found that the three fastest places in the UK were Brighton (1,010KBps), Ware (909KBps) and Stevenage (805KBps). The worst broadband speeds in the country were found in Stanford-on-Avon in Northamptonshire, with an average of just 130KBps.
The study, carried out by tracking the speeds of more than 400,000 users downloading games and patches during the first six months of this year, highlights the disparity between the broadband speeds advertised by ISPs and those actually experienced by their customers.
A recent study by UK telecoms regulator Ofcom (http://www.next-gen.biz/news/ofcom-highlights-uk-broadband-disparity) found that the average maximum speed of UK broadband connections was 7.5Mbps; the above shows that the reality is just over half of that, at 3.85Mbps.