Rural internet speeds 'just a fifth' of the speeds advertised

Internet speeds in rural areas are currently just a fifth of advertised broadband speeds, according to data released by the House of Commons. This has led to calls to ban adverts that mislead consumers into buying internet packages that do not offer the full advertised speed.

According to the data, the slowest area in the UK can be found in Na h-Eileanan an Iar, Scotland, which gets broadband speeds of 5.6 Mbps, less than a fifth of the 'up to 30 Mbps' broadband packages described by sellers. This was followed by Argyle, Bute, in Scotland, and Carmarthen East and Dinefwr in Wales, that had just 8.5 Mbps of the advertised speeds.

The data also reveals the vast gap in speeds between rural and urban areas, with Grimsby receiving the top speeds of 46.8 Mbps. It has led to the Local Government Association (LGA) to call for misleading adverts to be banned. It suggests that speeds in rural areas compared to urban areas means many households and businesses in remote regions are unable to watch basic things such as catch up TV or Skype long distance relatives.

The call has come at a time when the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is looking into the way internet service providers (ISPs) are quoting speeds on their adverts. The conclusion of this investigation could result in broadband companies being forced to advertise average speeds. In turn, this could result in ISPs dropping their speeds by 25 per cent.

Councillor Mark Hawthorne, Chairman of the LGA’s People and Places Board, said: “Councils are working hard to ensure everyone has good quality internet access. Broadband users deserve greater honesty and openness about the download and upload speeds they are likely to receive depending on their location.”

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