Broadband study reveals depressing speed variation for internet users in the UK

A new report from Akamai underlines some glaring differences in the bandwidth that is available from broadband providers here in the UK.

In its comprehensive State of the Internet report, Akamai found that the average mobile broadband connection speed has increased slightly to 4Mbps in its third quarter figures, up from the 3.9Mbps that it registered in the previous quarter.

The report offers up an evaluation of broadband services from around the world, with the global average speed now being 2Mbps according to Akamai. South Korea comes top of the global pile with users there getting 14Mbps, although this figure has actually dropped since the last figures were recorded.

According to the statistics, broadband users in Romania enjoy the highest speeds in Europe with 7Mbps, while Holland and Latvia trail just behind. European cities are generally much better served by broadband speeds the report suggests, with Constanta in Romania coming out tops with 8.8Mbps.

The report found that around 85 per cent of UK broadband consumers were able to get speeds over the 2Mbps mark, which marked a small improvement on previous results.

However, a mere 17 per cent are enjoying broadband connections of more than 5Mbps, meaning that it’s now more important than ever to check your speed regularly to weigh up if you’re getting the best from your internet service provider.