The report from uSwitch has been commissioned to publicise the wide disparity between internet speeds in different parts of the UK.

Residents in Greenmeadows Park in Gloucestershire would need to set aside more than 102 hours to download a two-hour HD film on Netflix and at least 38 hours to download a 45-minute HD TV show, while those living on Abdon Avenue would take less than four minutes to download the same film and just 72 seconds to download the same TV show.

The government has implemented a Universal Service Obligation (USO) that should see all UK residents getting minimum speeds of 10Mbps by 2020 although even this has been deemed too low by some in the House of Lords. 

While the average speed in the UK is a respectable 46.2Mbps, more than a quarter (26.3 per cent) of homes struggle with speeds of less than 10Mbps meaning the government has a lot of work to do if the USO is going to be implemented in time. uSwitch found that one in eight (13.3 per cent) households can’t even reach 5Mbps.

The South West dominates the speed rankings – five of the UK’s fastest streets are in Devon, Dorset, Cornwall and Wiltshire – while nine of the slowest streets can be found north of the Mersey, including in South Yorkshire, Greater Manchester, North Yorkshire, Scotland and Merseyside.

Efforts to boost broadband speeds have been working however, with nearly a third (31 per cent) now getting speeds of 30-plus Mbps, up from less than a quarter (22 per cent) three years ago.

The research is based on more than 279,186 ‘real world’ speed tests run by broadband users over the last year.

uSwitch described the situation as a “postcode lottery” with areas such as South Yorkshire and Cambridge experiencing some of the fastest and some of the slowest broadband.

It said that superfast broadband was actually available on more than a third (35 per cent) of the UK’s slowest streets, but a lack of awareness that a better service is accessible results in many being resigned to poor download speeds.

Dani Warner, broadband spokeswoman at uSwitch.com, said: “This research lays bare the extent of the UK’s digital divide. Streets that are relatively close geographically can be light years apart when it comes to the download speeds they are getting.

“It’s almost comical that it would take someone in Bamfurlong more than 100 hours to download a two-hour HD film yet someone living just an hour’s drive away on Abdon Avenue in Birmingham can download the same film in just over four minutes.

“Awareness of fibre broadband availability continues to be the biggest hurdle to people getting faster download speeds. Over a third of the slowest streets have access to superfast speeds, so people living there have no need to be crawling along on completely unusable internet services.”

In July Chancellor Philip Hammond said the government is considering a date for the switch off of legacy copper telecoms networks in a bid to encourage ISPs to boost investment in laying down full fibre connections around the UK. 

The report from uSwitch has been commissioned to publicise the wide disparity between internet speeds in different parts of the UK.

Residents in Greenmeadows Park in Gloucestershire would need to set aside more than 102 hours to download a two-hour HD film on Netflix and at least 38 hours to download a 45-minute HD TV show, while those living on Abdon Avenue would take less than four minutes to download the same film and just 72 seconds to download the same TV show.

The government has implemented a Universal Service Obligation (USO) that should see all UK residents getting minimum speeds of 10Mbps by 2020 although even this has been deemed too low by some in the House of Lords. 

While the average speed in the UK is a respectable 46.2Mbps, more than a quarter (26.3 per cent) of homes struggle with speeds of less than 10Mbps meaning the government has a lot of work to do if the USO is going to be implemented in time. uSwitch found that one in eight (13.3 per cent) households can’t even reach 5Mbps.

The South West dominates the speed rankings – five of the UK’s fastest streets are in Devon, Dorset, Cornwall and Wiltshire – while nine of the slowest streets can be found north of the Mersey, including in South Yorkshire, Greater Manchester, North Yorkshire, Scotland and Merseyside.

Efforts to boost broadband speeds have been working however, with nearly a third (31 per cent) now getting speeds of 30-plus Mbps, up from less than a quarter (22 per cent) three years ago.

The research is based on more than 279,186 ‘real world’ speed tests run by broadband users over the last year.

uSwitch described the situation as a “postcode lottery” with areas such as South Yorkshire and Cambridge experiencing some of the fastest and some of the slowest broadband.

It said that superfast broadband was actually available on more than a third (35 per cent) of the UK’s slowest streets, but a lack of awareness that a better service is accessible results in many being resigned to poor download speeds.

Dani Warner, broadband spokeswoman at uSwitch.com, said: “This research lays bare the extent of the UK’s digital divide. Streets that are relatively close geographically can be light years apart when it comes to the download speeds they are getting.

“It’s almost comical that it would take someone in Bamfurlong more than 100 hours to download a two-hour HD film yet someone living just an hour’s drive away on Abdon Avenue in Birmingham can download the same film in just over four minutes.

“Awareness of fibre broadband availability continues to be the biggest hurdle to people getting faster download speeds. Over a third of the slowest streets have access to superfast speeds, so people living there have no need to be crawling along on completely unusable internet services.”

In July Chancellor Philip Hammond said the government is considering a date for the switch off of legacy copper telecoms networks in a bid to encourage ISPs to boost investment in laying down full fibre connections around the UK.