Wales and Scotland lag behind England on broadband speed, according to the latest internet speed study from Uswitch.com.

The broadband experts analysed broadband speed data in local authorities across the country to find the areas with the quickest connections across the UK – and the top ten performers were all in England, with Southampton being named home to the fastest average broadband speeds in the UK, exceeding 160Mbps on average.

Here’s how different authorities performed:

Local authorities with the fastest broadband speeds

Residents of Southampton are benefiting from the fastest internet speeds in the entire country, with download speeds averaging 166.68Mbps, more than double the UK’s average urban broadband speed (81Mbps). Those in the South East will find the second highest broadband speeds in Slough, at 155.33Mbps, which places ninth.

Stockton-on-Tees has the fastest broadband of any local authority in the North East, and the second highest in the UK. Averaging 166.36Mbps, download speeds in Stockton-on-Tees are just 0.35Mbps slower than Southampton (166.68Mbps). Broadband speeds are also 43% faster than County Durham (115.94Mbps), despite being neighbouring local authorities.

Newham, home to the fastest broadband in London, places third, with download speeds of 157.80Mbps. Speeds in Newham are 15% faster than those in the City of Edinburgh (136.27Mbps) and 28% faster than Cardiff (122.92Mbps). Broadband in Newham is also 43% faster than Westminster, at 110.70Mbps.

Uswitch.com broadband expert, Max Beckett, comments on finding your fastest broadband available

“As demand for faster internet gets higher, broadband providers have been making efforts to upgrade their speeds across the UK. Gigabit-capable broadband coverage continues to grow, with at least 70% of all UK homes now able to access these faster services. Full fibre coverage also continues to increase, with two-fifths (40%) of homes having access to the service at the end of 2022.

Gigabit and full fibre broadband could increase the speed of your connection by up to 100% when upgrading from any other broadband, as they supply some of the fastest speeds available worldwide. Upgrading to these connections can result in a notable decrease in wait time when using the web, and is especially useful if you work from home, or are often streaming or gaming online.

There are other ways to improve your internet’s speed without changing your plan: moving your router to a more appropriate position, away from obstructions and in the centre of your home,  can boost speeds for any devices connected to your wifi.

If you have lots of devices unnecessarily connected to your wifi permanently, disconnecting some when they’re not in use could help improve your broadband speed. If your connection is weaker in some parts of your home compared to others, consider investing in a wifi extender to boost connectivity in areas further from your router.”

Find out more about speeds in your area at Uswitch.com broadband.