Everyone knows the frustration of going to stream your favourite TV show or movie, only to be met with endless buffering.
While slow broadband speeds are something many of us have to face, new research has revealed which UK streets have it worst of all.
A study by Broadband Genie found that Greenfields Road in Bishop Auckland has the slowest connection in the UK, with broadband speeds of just 0.35Mb (megabytes per second).
At that speed, it would take residents 34 hours to download this year’s blockbuster hit Inside Out 2.
By comparison, the UK’s fastest street is Tynemouth Street in London where occupants receive speeds of 921.76Mb – 2,634 times faster than Greenfields Road.
To find out which streets had the best and worst connections, Broadband Genie reviewed 207,000 speed tests from around the UK.
They found that Britain’s average broadband speed for upload and download was 81.97Mb, but many places fell well below this level.
Alex Tofts, Strategist at Broadband Genie, said: ‘Broadband customers should not have to tolerate slow broadband, especially when the majority of providers continue to annually raise prices for customers.’
Research from Broadband Genie has revealed the streets with the slowest and fastest broadband connections across the UK
Greenfields Road in Bishop Auckland (pictured) had the slowest connection of anywhere in the UK, with broadband speeds of just 0.35Mb. At this speed, it would take 34 hours to download Inside Out 2
The street with the second slowest connection is Collingdle Road, Northampton with speeds of just 0.47Mb.
In third place is Southcote Farm Lane in Reading where residents face broadband speeds of 0.61Mb closely followed by Water Lane, Oakham in fourth with a connection speed of only 0.62Mb.
While London is home to the street with the UK’s fastest connection, it also hosts one of the slowest.
Barrowgate Road comes in at number five with a broadband speed of 0.67Mb – just five miles from Britain’s best-connected street.
For reference, Ofcom’s Universal Service Obligation gives customers the right to request a minimum connection speed of just 10Mb – almost 20 times what some customers on the slowest streets achieve.
On the other hand, people living in Tynemouth Street, London enjoy the UK’s fastest speeds of 921.76Mb.
That speed should allow residents to download Inside Out 2 in just 46 seconds.
In second place was Bloxworth Close, Wallington with 910.10Mb followed by Lumsdale Crescent, Matlock in third with a connection speed of 886.32Mb.
The UK’s best broadband connection was found on Tynemouth Street in London (pictured) where occupants received broadband speeds of 921.76Mb – 2,634 times faster than Greenfields Road
Saxon Dale, Leicester clocked the UK’s fourth fastest broadband speed with 823.98Mb while residents of Moatview Park, Belfast enjoy speeds of 794.34Mb in fifth.
However, according to Broadband Genie, those blighted by lower speeds don’t necessarily need to put up with their dodgy connection.
Mr Tofts says: ‘If you haven’t renewed your broadband contract in over two years, it’s likely you can get a faster deal at the same or lower cost than what you’re currently paying.’
Of the speed tests ranked by Broadband Genie, 57,399 premises in the UK fall short of Ofcom’s Universal Service Obligation for connection speeds.
Mr Tofts says: ‘The majority of widely available broadband providers are signed up to Ofcom’s Broadband Speed Code of Practice.
‘If your provider can’t resolve the issue within 30 days, you’re free to leave your contract without charge.’
Even on the UK’s slowest streets, most have the option to upgrade to a faster connection.
Of the 10 slowest streets, nine have access to superfast broadband of at least 30Mb while eight have access to ultrafast broadband of 300Mb and over.
Broadband Genie says that most customers don’t need to settle for slow connections since 80 per cent of UK homes have access to Gigabit-capable broadband with speeds of at least 1,000Mb (stock image)
Only Greenfields Road and Water Lane can’t offer residents speeds of at least 300Mb.
Across the UK, 80 per cent of homes can connect to Gigabit-capable broadband with speeds of 1,000Mb.
Likewise, 62 per cent have the option to use full fibre broadband but this does drop to only 46 per cent in rural areas.
It is important to note that connection speed can be affected by other factors like router placement and Wi-Fi strength.
However, this suggests that many broadband customers could get a better deal.
‘No bill payer or internet user should suffer in silence,’ says Mr Tofts.
‘If you find your broadband is consistently underperforming, and you can’t troubleshoot the issue yourself, contact your internet service provider.’
