The most recent data on broadband speeds reveals that a significant number of households in the UK are facing challenges with internet connections that do not meet the government’s minimum speed requirements. Broadband Genie’s analysis of over 144,000 consumer speed tests highlighted that some users are struggling to achieve download speeds of 10Mbps, which is considered the baseline for a satisfactory broadband service by the UK government.
For reference, downloading a full HD movie at 10Mbps would take more than 40 minutes, contrasting with just 5 minutes on a 100Mbps connection. The study also pointed out the providers with the poorest performance. Mobile broadband users using 4G and 5G networks experienced the slowest speeds, with Vodafone’s Mobile Broadband service ranking at the bottom, as 34.1% of customers fell below the 10Mbps download speed threshold. Three Home Broadband and EE Mobile Home Broadband followed closely behind.
Among traditional fixed-line broadband providers, EE had the lowest performance, with 24.3% of customers failing to meet the 10Mbps download speed requirement. TalkTalk, Plusnet, and BT also had a significant percentage of users below the threshold. On the other end of the spectrum, smaller alternative broadband networks, known as alt-nets, such as Zzoomm, Hey! Broadband, Onestream, toob, and Squirrel, had less than 2% of customers experiencing speeds below the government’s minimum standard.
Broadband Genie’s strategist Alex Tofts commented on the findings, expressing concern about the significant number of customers not receiving adequate broadband speeds according to government standards. Tofts emphasized the importance of reporting consistently slow connections to providers and highlighted that customers can exit their contracts without penalties if providers fail to address speed issues covered under Ofcom’s Speed Code of Practice.