When it comes to streaming movies and games — or even working from home — there’s nothing A slow, unstable or unreliable broadband connection is more annoying than anything.
New research shows that this is not a major problem in Hull and Luton. Instead, residents in these regions enjoy the highest internet speeds anywhere in the UK.
But sadly the same cannot be said for those in major cities in Scotland — particularly Aberdeen and Glasgow — and much of the north of England.
According to Protect Your Bubble’s study, residents in the area have some of the slowest internet connections in Britain. In fact, in certain cases, access to superfast broadband can be as low as a third.
According to research, people in Hull and Luton have the fastest internet speeds anywhere in the UK. Aberdeen and Sheffield are the least accessible.
| Rank | Zone | Access to broadband internet for a percentage of premises |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hull | 97.5 |
| 2 | Luton | 94.5 |
| 3 | Portsmouth | 93.8 |
| 4 | Nottingham | 91.8 |
| 5 | Belfast | 90.9 |
| 6 | Wolverhampton | 90.8 |
| 7 | Leicester | 90.8 |
| 8 | Middlesbrough | 90.6 |
| 9 | Slough | 90.1 |
| 10 | Birmingham | 90 |
Unsurprisingly Hull, Britain’s first full fibre city, came out on top in the research, with 97.5 per cent of the premises in the city having access to ultrafast broadband.
It is also well below the average UK rate of 82.5 Percent.
Luton placed second, with ultrafast broadband reaching 94.5 per cent of residential and business properties, thanks in part to the local council’s £180,000 investment in recent years to enable superfast broadband to the area.
Portsmouth was third, with almost 94% of its buildings having ultrafast internet access.
With 91.8 and 90.9 percent respectively, Belfast and Nottingham complete the top five locations with ultrafast broadband access.
More than one million hard to reach homes and businesses will have next generation gigabit broadband built to them in the first phase of a £5 billion government infrastructure project, according to Boris Johnson’s government
| Rank | Zone | Ultrafast broadband access for up to 1% of properties |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aberdeen | 49 |
| 2 | Sheffield | 50.1 |
| 3 | Sunderland | 63.6 |
| 4 | Glasgow | 69.4 |
| 5 | Newcastle | 70.5 |
| 6 | Blackpool | 70.5 |
| 7 | Warrington | 71.2 |
| 8 | Manchester | 71.8 |
| 9 | Southend-on-Sea | 73.6 |
| 10 | York | 75.5 |
Surprisingly London is just above the UK average with 80.3 per cent of Londoners and Businesses being able access this speed.
Aberdeen was last with only 49% while Glasgow had a low of 69%.
However, there is some good news for residents in Aberdeen, as the city is one of the areas set to benefit from an £8 million cash injection to boost broadband speeds across Scotland.
Sheffield is closely followed by the 2nd worst location for accessibility, with only 50.1 percent of premises having ultrafast internet.
Sunderland (63.6%) and Newcastle (70.5%) complete the top five UK areas.
James Brown from Protect your bubble said that “The pandemic demonstrated just how crucial good quality connectivity to everyday life is and that this trend is only going to increase.”
“Portable devices play an important role in people’s connectivity. It is imperative that the public ensures their device is covered should it get lost or damaged.
Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister of Boris Johnson in July 2019, pledged that he would provide full-fibre for ‘every house in the country’ by 2025.
According to infrastructure reports in November, however, the government has quietly lowered the goal to achieve 85 percent of the UK.
It stated that the government was working closely with industry in order to attain a minimum 85 percent gigabit-capable coverage rate by 2025. But, they will continue to push for faster roll-out so as to be as close as possible to 100 percent.
“The government will keep implementing an ambitious program of work to eliminate barriers to broadband deployment, and maximize coverage in areas that are difficult to reach.
You can access the complete data set here.