Fixed broadband 'double' speed of mobile

Fixed-line broadband is double the speed of mobile on average, according to new research.

A study by comparison site Broadband Expert found that the average fixed-line speed was 3.61Mbps whereas for mobile it was only 1.57Mbps (based on 308,584 and 5,345 tests respectively).

It was also suggested by the company that the gap was becoming larger; fixed-line connections are 0.66Mbps faster than in February, while mobile has only speeded up by 0.1Mbps since April.

Broadband Expert technical director William Harvey believes that the improvement in fixed-line is because of the faster services that have been offered, which have been supported by both demand and technology advances.

He said companies are "phasing out slower services with many providers entry-level packages starting at up to 8Mb and a number of providers upgrading customers on slower services free of charge".

In terms of the future, Mr Harvey explained that increased 3G coverage will cause the average mobile speed to rise, but it will still be behind fixed-line as home broadband companies make large improvements to their networks.