Wales ranks worst in region for slow internet

New research revealed by Broadband Genie assessed internet speeds cross-referenced against region. After analysing over 348,000 consumer speed tests, the comparison expert assessed that Wales was suffering from the slowest serving in the whole of the UK.

A worrisome number of tests had failed to achieve the speeds required for even the most basic activities online. Statistics showed that 3% of the speed tests didn’t hit 3 megabits, which isn’t sufficient to stream the standard video quality content available on Netflix. The study also found that 13% of tests collated didn’t represent a decent quality broadband connection of at least 10 megabits.

Irrespective of these poor figures, data analysts at Broadband Genie found that faster broadband speeds were accessible to most premises in the areas assessed. A spokesperson for the leading comparison company commented that the level of service that customers in Wales are receiving undermines the digital development that has taken place in the region.

They commented that Wales was ranked second only to Northern Ireland in terms of deployment of full fibre internet, but added that take-up of the service is just 39% above the current UK average.

The report also examined the quality of broadband providers in each region. It uncovered that the slowest internet service providers (ISPs) in Wales were Three and TalkTalk, with recorded speeds of 29 megabits and 31 megabits. At the other end of the spectrum, Zen and YouFibre rated the highest, with top speeds of 205 megabits and 269 megabits.