UK Climbs to 43rd out of 224 Countries for Broadband Speed

The annual 2021 global speeds report from research firm M-Lab and Cable.co.uk has reported that the United Kingdom delivered an average (mean) broadband ISP download speed of 51.48Mbps (up from 37.82Mbps last year), ranking us 43rd fastest in the world (up from 47th last year, but still down from 34th in 2019).

The research stems from information gathered via 1.166 billion speed tests via around 250 million unique IP (user) addresses, which were carried out across the world via 224 countries (up from 221 last year). The average global broadband download speed was recorded as 29.79Mbps (Megabits per second), which is up slightly from 24.83Mbps last year.

On the surface, some may remark that the latest figure of 51.48Mbps for the UK is remarkably similar to the latest data from Ofcom (here), which was published last week and recorded an average download rate of 50.4Mbps. However, Cable.co.uk are using a “mean” average, while Ofcom used a “median“, and if we convert the regulator’s data to a “mean” then it comes out at just over 79Mbps. But both studies used very different methodologies (e.g. the regulator directly tested connections via a modified router, which rules out key issues like poor WiFi and local network load etc.).

The good news is that the UK’s global country ranking did improve, if only slightly. But at 51.48Mbps the UK ranks 20th out of 29 states in Western Europe, or ninth slowest. Average speeds in the UK are roughly 57% of the Western European average (90.56Mbps). As before, this is due in no small part to the UK being behind on our “full fibre” (FTTP) and other gigabit-capable network coverage, but we are rapidly improving (here).

By comparison, the five “countries” with the fastest internet speeds in the world are Jersey (274.27Mbps), Liechtenstein (211.26Mbps), Iceland (191.83Mbps), Andorra (164.66Mbps) and Gibraltar (151.34Mbps). All five are within Western Europe and all are either very small or they are island nations, where FTTP is usually prevalent and often easier to deploy.

On the flip side, the five countries in the world with the slowest network speeds are Turkmenistan (0.50Mbps), Yemen (0.68Mbps), Ethiopia (1.20), Guinea-Bissau (1.24Mbps), and Equatorial Guinea (1.30Mbps).

Caveats of the Data

Speed testing based reports like this should be taken with a pinch of salt because they can easily be misinterpreted. In particular, nobody should be equating such studies to directly reflect the availability of faster connections, as the two are far from being in sync. On top of that, people are more likely to measure their speed if there is something wrong or if they aren’t getting the speed they need, which can produce a negative bias.

An Ofcom spokesperson said:

“Comparisons like this should be treated with caution. The speeds people actually get and the speeds people could get are not the same thing. Superfast broadband is available to the vast majority of UK homes, but millions of people are yet to take this up. Many customers might be surprised to learn they can upgrade to faster speeds, for no extra cost.”

Just for some context, Ofcom reports that fixed “superfast broadband” (30Mbps+) networks are available to over 96% of UK premises and 40% can access a “gigabit” (1Gbps+) capable network (24% if you only include FTTP networks), although many people have yet to upgrade (i.e. they cannot afford, are aware of or even feel the need to upgrade). Meanwhile c.17% of premises still subscribe to far slower copper ADSL lines.

Such testing can also be impacted by other factors, such as poor home wiring, user choice of package (e.g. 1Gbps could be available, but people may still pick a slower and cheaper tier), local network congestion (i.e. conducting a test while others or background tasks are using the network) and slow home WiFi etc. Likewise, it’s unclear whether this study has also lumped Mobile Broadband (4G, 5G etc.) speeds or business connections in with fixed line services to homes.

Nevertheless, if we assume that such caveats will apply to all countries, then the data is still useful as a rough gauge of market change and take-up across the world. The UK Government’s new £5bn Project Gigabit programme, which aims to extend gigabit coverage to at least 85% of UK premises by the end of 2025, will also help to improve matters, eventually.

224 Countries Ranked by Average (Mean) Download Speed

We should add that countries where fewer than 100 measurements could be taken during the sample period were excluded from the study, which includes Norfolk Island, Antarctica, U.S. Minor Outlying Islands, Niue, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, North Korea, Cocos [Keeling] Islands, French Southern Territories, Montserrat, Falkland Islands, Tuvalu, Bouvet Island, Tonga, Nauru, Christmas Island, Tokelau, Western Sahara, Cook Islands, British Indian Ocean Territory, Central African Republic, Wallis and Futuna, and Kiribati.

Just for the record, the limited data that was supplied for the Falkland Islands, which is fed by satellite connectivity, revealed an average speed of 14.42Mbps.