The average speed of UK broadband connections has jumped by more than 25% in the last year, Ofcom has revealed.
As of May 2018, the average download speed is 46.2Mbps is 10Mbps on the 36.2Mbps average reported in April 2017. That’s a 27.62% increase.
In comparison, average upload speeds also rose significantly. They’re up to 6.2Mbps, from 4.3Mbps in 2017.
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The data was gathered during November 2017 from 4,861 homes in the United Kingdom and takes in all of the major ISPs.
While it’s not the largest sample size, it does reflect the continuing and significant uptick in speeds across the UK.
Last year there was also a 25.26% rise, from 28.9Mbps in March 2016 to 36.2Mbps in April 2017 (via ISPreview).
Poor Wales
In terms of the breakdown of speeds per country within the union, England leads the way with an average download speed of 47.8Mbps.
Perhaps surprisingly, given the well-documented problems in bringing high-speed broadband to the highlands, Scotland is second at 43.6Mbps.
Northern Ireland is next with 39.2Mbps, while Wales has the lowest average by far with 33.4Mbps.
Of com says 95% of the United Kingdom now has access to the superfast broadband, classed as 24Mbps+
But for that remaining 5% combined with the households who chose not to have the fastest possible connection, the average would likely be much higher.
There’s also a massive disparity remaining between urban and rural areas. The average download speed in urban areas is 49.4Mbps, while rural download speeds average out at 18.3Mbps.
Have you noticed an uptick in your internet speeds in the last year? Drop us a line @TrustedReviews on Twitter.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
