Streets with fastest and slowest broadband in UK revealed

The fastest and slowest broadband speeds in the UK have been revealed. (Getty)

The differences in broadband speeds across the UK have been laid bare in new research that shows the slowest street is 5,330 times slower than the fastest street.

Queens Road in Weybridge, Surrey, has the most sluggish connection, coming in with average download speeds of 0.12Mbps, according to an analysis of 398,973 consumer speed tests in 2020 conducted by comparison site uswitch.com.

On the other end of the scale, Dale Lane in Appleton, Cheshire, was named the quickest street, achieving average speeds of 639.67Mbps.

This would mean the residents of Queens Road would have to wait around 119 hours to download a two-hour high definition film, while Dale Lane’s inhabitants could expect it within about a minute and 20 seconds.

Dale Lane in Appleton, Cheshire, is the fastest street for broadband in the UK in 2020. (Google)

Commenting on the research, Uswitch said the digital divide could be growing deeper as the fastest street was only 830 times quicker than the slowest in its 2019 analysis.

Ernest Doku, broadband expert at the comparison site, said: “It’s interesting to see that the North claims the fastest street this year, while the slowest street is in the South East, showing that the speed of your connection has nothing to do with where you live.

“It’s great that more of us are enjoying ultra-fast broadband, but we don’t want to see large swathes of the country left behind on shoddy connections that aren’t suitable for modern life.”

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There is concern that people are not checking whether they can get faster speeds, with research showing seven out of the 10 slowest streets have access to a quicker service.

Doku added: “With millions of us working from home and watching more streaming TV at the moment, a good broadband connection is more important than ever…

“And of the 10 slowest streets, seven could have access to faster broadband, so we urge residents there — and anyone else unhappy with their broadband speeds — to do a quick check online to see what speeds they could be getting.”

How to check your broadband speed

There are various broadband speed checkers online, which are free to use and will analyse how quickly your internet is in seconds.

The speed test check is best done at least twice – once over the wi-fi (as close as you can get to the router) and once with a computer (if you have one) plugged directly into your router.

A noticeable difference in speed with the computer plugged in could mean speeds can be quickened by moving closer to the router, or using a signal booster.

Free-to-use broadband speed tests are available online. (Getty)

To ensure the most accurate results, ensure you are not downloading anything at the same time, shut down any software using the internet and switch off phones/tablets/consoles that are using the same wireless network.

Uswitch also advises turning off electronic devices such as microwaves, wireless doorbells and baby monitors as they can affect the signal strength.

The speed test works by downloading and uploading dummy ‘packets’ of data sent to servers via ‘pings’ – which measure the round-trip time it takes for the packets to be sent and received by your computer.

The slowest streets in 2020:

1. Queens Road, Weybridge, Surrey – 0.12Mbps

2. Hatchett Road, Feltham, Hounslow, London – 0.38Mbps

3. Monkton, Devon – 0.45Mbps

4. Church Street, Great Maplestead, Halstead, Essex – 0.47Mbps

5. Limmer Close, Wokingham, Berkshire – 0.48Mbps

6. Waterley Bottom, North Nibley, Dursley, Gloucestershire – 0.49Mbps

7. Spencer Road, Caterham, Surrey – 0.55Mbps

8. Ringhaddy Road, Killinchy, Newtownards, Northern Ireland – 0.62Mbps

9. Fishtoft Drove, Frithville, Boston, Lincolnshire – 0.66Mbps

10. Sopwith Crescent, Wimborne, Dorset – 0.67Mbps

The fastest streets in 2020:

1. Dale Lane, Appleton, Warrington, Cheshire – 639.67Mbps

2. Longhedge, Caldecotte, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire – 568.18Mbps

3. Old Ballynahinch Road, Lisburn, Northern Ireland – 563.85Mbps

4. Montvale Gardens, Leicester, Leicestershire – 452.02Mbps

5. Mill Close, Henlow, Bedfordshire- 360.59Mbps

6. York Road, Guildford, Surrey – 352.67Mbps

7. Chapel Road, Oldbury-on-Severn, Gloucestershire – 284.92Mbps

8. Woodcroft Road, Liverpool, Merseyside – 282.21Mbps

9. Cairn Wynd, Inverurie, Scotland – 276.40Mbps

10. Sandy Hamilton Place, Inverurie, Scotland – 253.17Mbps

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