The median download rate for home broadband connections in the United Kingdom is now 65 megabits per second. More than nine out of ten homes have a broadband connection with an advertised download rate of 30 megabits per second or higher, with one in ten capable of more than 300 megabits per second. However, half of homes think they have a fibre connection when it is unavailable in their area.
The figures come from the Home Broadband Performance Report published by the communications regulator Ofcom, based on data collected by SamKnows from its panel of volunteers who connect a monitoring device to their home router. The data are weighted to be representative of the United Kingdom market.
The data show that mean download rates across all types of connection increased from 64Mbps in November 2019 to 122Mbps in September 2022, while the median rose from 41Mbps to 65Mbps.
The research suggests that fewer than 3% of consumers had average download rates of less than 10Mbps.
Average upload rates remain much lower, at 15Mbps, rising to 17Mbps for those on packages with advertised rates of 30Mbps or higher.
Ofcom is seeking to address consumer confusion about “fibre” services. The term is often applied to services where the final connection is still delivered over the copper telephone cable network. Ofcom research revealed that less than half of customers who reported being on full-fibre broadband were living in areas where it is available.
Under proposed rules, broadband providers will only be able to use the terms ‘fibre’ and ‘full-fibre’ on their web sites and in contracts if their network uses fibre-optic cables all the way to the home.
Ofcom is consulting on the proposed regulation and aims to publish its conclusions later in 2023. Advertising rules are covered separately by the Advertising Standards Authority.