Business

Derry best for superfast broadband

Derry is the UK's best-performing city for superfast broadband coverage - and Belfast isn't far behind - according to Ofcom.

A study by the industry regulator found that some consumers living in urban areas are still putting up with very low broadband speeds, with disadvantaged areas suffering the slowest services.

While coverage varies widely between major urban areas, Derry is easily the best-performing city for availability at 99 per cent. in Belfast, although almost all parts of the city have access to superfast broadband, around 5.9 per cent of connections in the poorest areas are below 2 Mbit/s, but this fell to just 2.2 per cent in areas with the highest incomes. The study examined 11 UK cities and found wide variations in the proportion of premises on a relatively slow broadband connection of 2 Mbit/s and below. Consumers in Cardiff and inverness were twice as likely to be on a slower connection than those in London or Birmingham.

Coverage of faster next-generation networks also varied between the cities, though in most it is now around 90 per cent, according to the report.

Ofcom's consumer group director Claudio Pollack said: "Access to fast broadband is an important part of modern life, and a source of economic growth and investment across the UK. "We know from previous research that rural areas often lack fast broadband coverage, something the government is helping to address with public funding. "These findings suggest that the usage and availability of faster broadband also vary widely between cities. We will carry out further work in this area to help bring faster broadband to UK homes, whether in cities or rural areas." Dominic Baliszewki from broadbandchoices.co.uk said: "Broadband is an essential utility nowadays and no-one should be left behind on a connection of just a few Mbps."