Canterbury remains the UK's slowest city for broadband

The report was based on149,000 user speed tests, using a mix of download and upload speeds from fixed and mobile connections.

Canterbury clocked in with average broadband speeds of 22 Mbps, which the report notes is around the bare minimum offered by the most basic superfast packages. Virgin Media apparently doesn’t operate there and 30% of premises don’t have access to full fibre broadband, we’re told.

The Yorkshire city of Ripon got the second biggest broadband speed wooden spoon, though the report says CityFibre is connecting thousands of premises to full fibre and altnet Zzoomm is planning to build in the area as well.

As for the champions, Lichfield in Staffordshire came top with a broadband speed of 359 Mbps. To compare the first and last place cities, the report says it would take users in Canterbury almost one hour to download Dune: Part Two, while in Lichfield it would take 3 and a half minutes.

As for the UK’s capitals, Edinburgh came highest in 12th position, an honour previously held by Belfast which dropped to 15th, while London clocked in at 38th and Cardiff was 56th.

“No broadband customer should accept a sub-par service, least of all in a year when customers are putting up with hefty price rises,” said Alex Tofts, Strategist at Broadband Genie. “Most of Britain’s biggest providers sign up to Ofcom’s Broadband Speeds Code of Practice. This means they have to be clear about the speeds you should expect at your address, including a guaranteed minimum they must keep above.

 “It’s worth bearing in mind that poor broadband speeds can also be influenced by factors outside your provider’s control, so make sure you check these first. Poor home wiring or a poorly positioned or a faulty router could be dragging your Wi-Fi down. Residents in the slowest towns and cities may also be suffering unnecessarily, with faster speeds available in their area if they switch. If you are out of contract and looking to upgrade your broadband, do a quick comparison online to see the best deals on offer. You may even end up paying less for a better and faster service.”

There will always be a slowest and fastest area for internet speeds, but the report adds that as things stand, the UK’s broadband landscape in general is ‘looking positive’, with 18.7 million homes, or 62%, having access to full fibre broadband and gigabit broadband is available to 85%.