Major ISP nearly 50% quicker than national average

One of the UK's major internet service providers (ISP) has an average speed nearly 50 per cent faster than the national average, according to research from Broadband.co.uk.

The industry average hovers just above 4.3 megabits per second (Mbps), but Virgin Media offers an average speed of 6.135Mbps, allowing people to download media content from the internet in a shorter time and potentially facilitating better use of VoIP solutions.

Broadband.co.uk hosted thousands of speed tests on its website throughout June in order to collect the data, with rival ISPs Be and O2 also producing impressive results for domestic users.

Edd Dawson from broadband.co.uk said: "Providers such as O2 and Be are also providing top level speeds for those customers lucky enough to be in areas where their services are rolled out - these users receive a premier league supply in broadband terms."

He added that users living outside these providers' coverage zones suffer from speeds "way below" the average figure, which is an issue that needs to be addressed.

In other developments, satellite broadband provider SES Astra is gaining 10,000 new customers every quarter, according to Rapid TV News.