This York street has the slowest broadband in Britain

The UK’s worst street for broadband speed is more than 800 times slower than the fastest – and it is right here in York, an annual survey has found.

And yet, only four miles away is the street with the second-fastest speeds.

Kingsclere in Huntington was identified as having an average speed of just 0.22 megabits per second (Mbps), 830 times slower than Darwin Street in Livingston, Scotland, where average speeds stand at 182.52Mbps, according to uSwitch.com.

The results mean that a two-hour HD film on Netflix would take more than 65 hours to download in Kingsclere, whereas it would be a small wait of less than five minutes for residents in Darwin Street.

Similarly, a 45-minute HD TV show would require 24 hours to download for those living in Kingsclere, while in Darwin Street it would take under two minutes.

Speed picks up

A 16-minute drive away from Kingsclere and the average speed in York Road, Elvington, is 135.56Mbps.

Superfast fibre broadband is available on seven out of the 10 slowest streets, including Kingsclere, suggesting that consumers are being deprived of a better service by a lack of awareness, uSwitch.com said.

The research – based on 122,845 speed tests carried out on the price comparison service in the 12 months up to the end of September – found that a fifth (19%) struggle with speeds of less than 10Mbps.

However, the number able to access faster speeds is growing, with 38% receiving speeds of more than 30Mbps, an increase from less than a quarter (22%) reported four years ago.

According to Ofcom, the average UK download speed is now 54.2Mbps.

Switch if you can

Dani Warner, broadband expert at uSwitch.com said their research “reveals the digital divide running through Britain”. He said:

• If Charles Dickens were writing A Tale Of Two Cities today, it could begin, ‘It was the best of broadband, it was the worst of broadband.’

  Our research reveals the digital divide running through Britain.

  Residents living on one side of a city can be struggling with broadband as slow as molasses, while people just miles away are enjoying ultrafast speeds.

  It’s ridiculous to think that it would take someone in York Road, Elvington less than seven minutes to download a two-hour HD film like Toy Story 4, yet it would take more than two and a half days for someone living less than 16 minutes drive away in Kingsclere, Huntington.

  Lack of awareness regarding superfast broadband is one of the biggest obstacles stopping people from getting faster download speeds.
  

He has a point. TalkTalk has been installing Ultra Fibre Optic (UFO) broadband across York, which makes it possible to download a two-hour HD film in several seconds or 100 songs in three seconds.

One of the areas where it is available is… Huntington. Residents in Dringhouses, Woodthorpe, Foxwood, Chapelfields, Poppleton, New Earswick, Rawcliffe, Clifton and parts of Holgate and The Groves can also get access.