Belfast has fastest average broadband speed

The fastest average broadband speeds in the UK have been discovered in Belfast, according to a new report.

Website uSwitch.com published data showing the city has the best rates in the country, at 12.25 megabits per second (Mb/s), closely followed by Bournemouth (11.41Mb/s) and Poole in Dorset (11.22Mb/s), while Virgin Media, Be and BT were the fastest providers.

Although he welcomed a reported ten per cent increase in broadband connection speeds over the six months to May 2011, the company's technology expert Ernest Doku called for tighter advertising rules to ensure customers have accurate information.

Commenting on a rise in the gap between actual and published rates, he stated: "We support Ofcom's recommendation that adverts should show the range of speeds delivered to at least half of customers."

Those in the south-west of England could see the broadband speeds they receive rise after BT announced the latest phase of its next-generation copper rollout to a further 140,000 homes in the region.