Slowest broadband streets in UK revealed in new survey

• • Greenfields Road in Bishop Auckland is the UK’s slowest street

  • The County Durham road came bottom with average broadband speeds of 0.35Mb – 2,634 times slower than Tynemouth Street, London, which boasts the fastest broadband speeds of 921.76Mb.

  • Turnberry Crescent in Bridge of Don, Aberdeen is Scotland’s slowest street; the B4570 in Ponthirwaun is Wales’ slowest street; Orkney Street in Antrim is Northern Ireland’s slowest street and Barrowgate Road in Chiswick takes the wooden spoon for London.

The slowest street for broadband in the UK is Greenfields Road, Bishop Auckland, with average speeds of just 0.35Mb, research and analysis by Broadband Genie has found. 

This makes it 2,634 times slower than the UK’s fastest street, Tynemouth Street in London, where occupants received broadband speeds of 921.76Mb.

Broadband Genie recorded and analysed over 207,000 speed tests. Streets are ordered from slowest to fastest based on a combination of broadband download and upload speed.

After Greenfields Road, the UK’s second and third-slowest streets are Collingdale Road, Northampton (0.47Mb) and Southcote Farm Lane, Reading (0.61Mb). London also features one of the UK’s slowest streets. Just 5 miles away, Barrowgate Road is the UK’s fifth-slowest street.

However, a broadband checker will show the 9 slowest streets have access to superfast Broadband of at least 30Mb and 8 out of 10 have access to ultrafast broadband (300Mb and over). 

According to the research, 57,399 premises in the UK fall short of Ofcom’s Universal Service Obligation (USO) for Broadband. This gives anyone the right to request a broadband service of at least 10Mb. However, the broadband USO has also been criticised for how suitable and fit for purpose it is, as our digital demands grow.

Overall, UK streets averaged a broadband speed of 81.97Mb. In the UK, full-fibre broadband is available to 61%. However, this drops to 46% in rural areas.

For the full results and further analysis, visit the UK’s Slowest Streets from Broadband Genie

Table: Slowest streets for broadband in the UK

Table: Fastest streets for broadband in the UK

Alex Tofts, Strategist at Broadband Genie, comments: 

“Broadband customers should not have to tolerate slow broadband, especially when the majority of providers continue to annually raise prices for customers.

“However, it’s important to note, these are real speed tests. Poor broadband can be caused by various factors, such as number of devices, number of users and activity, router placement, and Wi-Fi signal strength.

“No bill payer or internet user should suffer in silence. If you find your broadband is consistently underperforming, and you can’t troubleshoot the issue yourself, contact your internet service provider.”

See how your broadband speed compares: run a speed test with Broadband Genie

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