Broadband speeds highlight geographic divide

Broadband users in urban and rural areas are receiving services with large differences in speeds, according to a new survey.

Research by Thinkbroadband.com, conducted on behalf of BBC News, shows that London users can surf the web at an average speed of 4.5 Mbps, far higher than the 3.2Mbps figure for the UK.

Meanwhile, the average speed in Scotland was 2.9 Mbps, Welsh users typically received 2.6 Mbps and Northern Ireland was just 2.3 Mbps.

But Andrew Ferguson, editor of thinkbroadband.com, said: "This survey shows us rural Britain may have a higher proportion of broadband homes but those homes are getting a slower service.

"It's a combination of telephone line length and the lack of access to cable and other options from BT's rivals."

Recent research published by Ofcom shows that 59 per cent of households in the countryside receive broadband connections whereas the corresponding figure for urban areas is 57 per cent.