The most recent data on broadband speeds reveals that a significant number of UK households are facing challenges with internet connections that do not meet the government’s minimum standard. Broadband Genie’s testing team conducted analysis on over 144,000 consumer speed tests, highlighting that some users struggle to achieve download speeds of 10Mbps, which is the recognized baseline for a satisfactory broadband service in the UK.
For perspective, downloading a full HD movie with a 10Mbps connection would take more than 40 minutes, whereas the same task could be completed in just 5 minutes with a 100Mbps connection.
In terms of performance rankings, mobile broadband users relying on 4G and 5G technologies are more likely to encounter slow speeds. Vodafone’s Mobile Broadband service ranked lowest, with 34.1% of customers failing to meet the 10Mbps download speed threshold. Following closely were Three Home Broadband with 28.8% and EE Mobile Home Broadband with 25.8% of users experiencing subpar speeds.
Among fixed-line broadband providers, EE exhibited the weakest performance, with 24.3% of customers falling short of the 10Mbps download speed. Additionally, 21% of EE customers did not meet the 1Mbps minimum upload speed. TalkTalk, Plusnet, and BT followed EE in the rankings.
The list of providers with the highest percentage of customers below the 10Mbps threshold includes Vodafone Mobile Broadband at 34.1%, Three Home Broadband at 28.8%, EE Mobile Home Broadband at 25.8%, EE at 24.3%, TalkTalk at 20.6%, Plusnet at 20.5%, BT at 15.1%, IDNet at 12.0%, Sky at 9.7%, and Airband at 9.7%.
On the other end of the spectrum, smaller alternative broadband networks, known as alt-nets, such as Zzoomm, Hey! Broadband, Onestream, toob, and Squirrel, boasted less than 2% of customers experiencing speeds below the government’s minimum threshold.
Broadband Genie’s strategist, Alex Tofts, expressed astonishment at the number of customers not receiving a basic broadband speed as defined by the government. Tofts emphasized the importance of reporting consistently low connection speeds to providers, noting that issues beyond the provider’s control could impact broadband performance. Customers are encouraged to contact their provider if promised speeds are not delivered, with the option to exit contracts penalty-free if providers are part of Ofcom’s Speed Code of Practice.