Broadband speeds faster in town
Ofcom report was misleading, says new survey
3 June 2008 11:12 GMT / By Katie Scott
A new report has contradicted Ofcom's claims that broadband connections are better in rural areas than in the UK's cities.
Ofcom released the report only last month claiming that broadband up-take is higher in rural areas than towns and cities, and heralded the results as signalling the closure of the digital divide between rural dwellers and city slickers.
But not so, claims thinkbroadband.com.
A new report, commissioned by BBC News, claims that broadband speeds are, on average, almost twice as fast in the capital than in Wales and Northern Ireland.
The survey of 6000 locations found the average broadband speed in London was 4.5Mbps, compared with 2.3Mbps in Northern Ireland, 2.6Mbps in Wales and 2.9Mbps in Scotland.
The report suggests that the average speed nationwide is 3.2Mbps.
Andrew Ferguson, editor of thinkbroadband.com, told the BBC: "This survey shows us rural Britain may have a higher proportion of broadband homes but those homes are getting a slower service".
Ferguson pointed to the use of fibre-optic cable in cities where as lower density housing in the countryside means ISPs resort to usin existing copper telephone lines.
He also added that distance from a BT exchange also affects speed.
The Ofcom report, whilst showing broadband take-up, did not investigate the speed of service.
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