Ofcom has published its 2013 Infrastructure Report Update, with some interesting statistics on the state of broadband in the UK. The report shows that superfast broadband networks are now available to 73% of UK premises, up from 65% in 2012. This is mainly due to BT’s Fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC) network, which in June 2013 passed 57% of premises, and Virgin Media’s cable network, which offers superfast broadband services to 48% of premises.
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Ofcom has reported that, as the availability of superfast broadband has increased, there has been a significant growth in take-up. In June 2013, 22% of broadband connections were superfast, compared with 10% in 2012.
Ofcom has reported that around 50% of broadband connections are operating below 11 Mbps. Furthermore, 8% of all broadband connections in the UK currently operate at downlink speeds of less than 2 Mbps. Interestingly, Ofcom has found that there are a significant number of consumers on the slowest lines who live in postcodes where superfast broadband is available.
Across all residential fixed broadband connections, the average data usage per connection for June 2013 was 30 GB. This is an increase of 20% from the figure of 23 GB in June 2012. In June 2013, the average data use for superfast broadband connections was 55 GB. Ofcom suggests that there is a strong correlation between data use and connection speed.
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New! You can check the availability of superfast and ultrafast broadband in your area, and find the best deals, by using the broadband checker on our Broadband Deals page.