Which? reveal best and worst broadband speeds in the UK

Which? reveal best and worst broadband speeds in the UKThe best and worst broadband speeds across the UK have been revealed by a new study, with the bottom three all coming from Scotland.

The research, conducted by consumer organisation Which?, found the Orkney Islands, Shetland Islands and Highland local authorities all averaged the lowest speeds.

Ryedale in Yorkshire and Purbeck in Dorset also made up the bottom five.

The fastest area was Tamworth, in the West Midlands, followed by Reading, Adur in West Sussex, Enfield and Dundee City.

The minimum download speed proposed under the Government's Universal Service Obligation is 10Mbps, but the study found the average test in 12 local authority areas didn't reach this speed.

And despite the majority of slow download speeds coming from rural areas, many local authority areas in big cities are getting below the national average.

The London boroughs of Southwark, Westminster, Lambeth, Hackney and the City of London were all found to be lagging behind the UK average, which was identified as 17Mbps in the report.

Alex Neill, Which? Managing Director of Home Services, said: "Far too many households across the UK are suffering from slow broadband speeds, which can stop you being able to carry out essential daily tasks.

"We are encouraging everyone with broadband to use our speed checker so people can see if they are getting the speeds that they've been promised by their provider and find out how to complain if their speed is too slow.

"This will also help to further highlight where problem areas are across the UK, putting pressure on Government and providers to help everyone get a good broadband connection."

The research used data from Speed Checker Ltd from January to March 2017.

Top 10

Tamworth, Reading, Adur, Enfield, Dundee City, Luton, North East Lincolnshire, Merton, Elmbridge, Broxbourne.

Bottom 10

Orkney Islands, Shetland Islands, Highland, Ryedale, Purbeck, Na h-Eileanan Siar, Powys, West Devon, Eden, Rother, Stirling.

A Department for Culture, Media and Sport spokesman said: "Superfast broadband is now available to 93% of the UK, and we are reaching thousands more homes and businesses every week.

"These figures don't show what broadband is available - they show many people haven't taken up speeds that are already available to them.

"Thanks to the Digital Economy Act passed last month, we will now directly ensure universal access to high speed broadband for the whole of the UK."

He added: "People can check what speeds are available to them by entering their postcode at gosuperfastchecker.culture.gov.uk."