The best cities for superfast broadband

A new Ofcom study into how broadband speeds vary across cities has thrown up some interesting contrasts.
A new study into superfast broadband by Ofcom has revealed which cities enjoy the most access to speedy internet connections.
While regulator Ofcom’s research on broadband coverage, take-up and speeds has tended to concentrate on rural areas in the past, a new study investigating superfast broadband availability has turned the focus to major cities.
The table below breaks down 11 cities across the UK and the level of access they have to superfast broadband connections (from BT or Virgin Media).
City | Level of access to superfast broadband |
Derry/Londonderry | 99% |
Belfast | 98% |
Cambridge | 96% |
Bangor | 95% |
Cardiff | 92% |
Birmingham | 91% |
Exeter | 90% |
London | 88% |
Manchester | 86% |
Glasgow | 67% |
Inverness |
2% |
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Slower internet in poorer areas
Ofcom found that a “significant minority” of people in urban areas didn’t have access to superfast broadband speeds, and were therefore putting up with subpar internet access, when it looked closer at case studies from six of the cities.
While the findings might be partially explained by the reasoning that lower incomes prevented people from purchasing top-speed deals, it was also found that superfast broadband was less widely available in parts of the city where people had lower income.
Around 4.1% of premises in the six cities surveyed were unable to receive a speed faster than 2Mbit/s – down 1.4% from 2012. Ofcom said that this could be down to operators maximising revenue by rolling out next-generation access (NGA) broadband in better-off areas first.
The table below shows the six cities which were compared by the proportion of users with <2Mbit/s connections, and the proportion of premises in that city where NGA broadband was available.
City |
<2Mbit/s connections |
NGA broadband availability |
London |
3.7% |
88.4% |
Birmingham |
4.2% |
91.3% |
Manchester |
5.5% |
86.3% |
Glasgow |
5.5% |
66.6% |
Cardiff |
7.7% |
90.9% |
Belfast |
3.8% |
98.1% |
Bar Cardiff and Glasgow, these cities shared the common trend that as the income improved, fewer people had <2Mbit/s connections.
Glasgow was found to have a low overall availability of NGA broadband; in the most income-deprived areas of the city, NGA availability fell to just above 20%.
Building on the findings
Ofcom has started another programme of work to analyse the availability of communications services in urban areas, looking at the factors affecting take-up. This new study will aim to understand which groups of people are most or least likely to sign up for communication services. Ofcom expects to publish its findings later this year.
It will also publish the new edition of its Infrastructure Report in September.
Broadband availability continues to improve as suppliers reach out to new areas – Ofcom research found that there was an increase in NGA availability and a decrease in the number of <2Mbit/s connections since 2012, a trend that they say is expected to continue in the next few years.
BT, for example, announced in January a £50 million investment which will be used to bring more fibre-optic connections to urban spaces.
To find out which broadband provider might be best for you or could have the most benefits, read The UK’s best and worst broadband providers and The best broadband freebies and incentives.
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Comments
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I don't think anywhere in the county where I live (Pembrokeshire) has fibre optic broadband. I have 8Mb/s which is plenty for my needs. There is no sign of any upgrades as there are under a thousand phone lines in the village (so I am told). There are still villages near here without any broadband because it doesn't work on party lines. Mobile signals are poor, and many don't have 3G anyway, so that's not an option for most. It isn't good for the businesses in the area.
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I live a 10 minute drive from the centre of Lincoln and you would think I am in the outback! We do not even have fibre optic broadband. So I write to my local MP who does not care less so annoying! WAKE UP LINCOLN this is 2014!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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I live 6 miles from he centre of Inverness. Not only do we have a very poor speed of ordinary broadband - about .5 most days if we're lucky, largely due to the incredibly ancient copper wire between us and the exchange - but there is no promise of improvement for this area on the next upgrade for the Highlands. Fair shares for all it is not, so just because a particular city has a fast speed, doesn't mean you can get it by living there. But I probably couldn't afford it if it was available, anyway.
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22 June 2014