Internet speeds vary widely even within same city

Broadband internet speeds vary dramatically even within the same city, a report shows.

Downloading in one area can be 89 per cent slower than it is just down the road, despite the Government making superfast broadband access a priority last year and pledging £100m of investment.

In the resulting “postcode lottery” of broadband access, Birmingham is the worst-affected city, the price comparison website uSwitch found.

In postcode district B42, which includes the suburbs of Perry Barr, Great Barr and Hamstead, download speeds over the past six months have been strong, with an average data transfer rate of 20.9 megabits per second (Mbps) – well above the national average of 12Mbps.

However, on the Castle Vale estate just two miles away, in the B35 postal area, internet users often experienced speeds of just 2.2Mbps – 89 per cent slower than their neighbours in Perry Barr and 82 per cent slower than the national average.

The uSwitch team looked at 30 of the country’s most densely populated towns and cities, and found that other areas with inconsistent connections included Glasgow, Bristol and Northampton.

In London, download speeds varied by up to 17Mbps in different postcode areas.