Some parts of the country are struggling with broadband speeds that average less than a third of the rates of other areas, ministers have admitted.
In West Devon and the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, the median download speed is 16 megabytes per second (Mbps), compared to 52 Mbps in Southwark, south London.
The figures were disclosed in a parliamentary answer by Baroness Barran, a minister at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS), citing Thinkbroadband, an independent website.
They highlight the challenge faced by ministers in meeting Boris Johnson’s election pledge to “bring full fibre and gigabit-capable broadband to every home and business” in the UK by 2025.
Layla Moran, the Liberal Democrat MP, said: “Those in rural areas are being made to feel like second-class citizens. For all the government’s warm words on this topic thousands of people are stuck in the digital slow lane.”
According to the figures, the council areas with the slowest median download speeds are West Devon, with an average of 16 Mbps, Forest of Dean, with 16.5 Mbps, and Braintree, in Essex, where the median speed is 17.6 Mbps.
But officials insist that 96 per cent of households could access speeds of at least 30 Mbps, even if they are currently only on plans giving them slower internet access.The areas with the fastest speeds are the London Borough of Southwark, the City of Kingston-upon-Hull, where the median is 49.6 Mbps, and Stevenage, with 42.7 Mbps.
