Original article ISPreview UK:Read More
A new study from Broadband Genie, which analysed 144,067 web-based broadband speed tests over an unspecified 12-month period, has claimed that 18% households in the UK are receiving “broadband” download speeds slower than the Universal Service Obligation (USO) of 10Mbps download or 1Mbps upload. But take that claim with a pinch of salt.
According to the results, 14% failed to record download speeds of 10Mbps and 13% did not reach a threshold of 1Mbps for uploads. The results claim to show a big disparity between official network availability and the speeds customers actually receive. Official Ofcom figures are said to show 1% of UK premises completely lack access to a USO-capable option (it’s actually 0.1% when mobile/wireless networks are included), but Broadband Genie’s data states that 18% of actual customer connections are failing to beat the USO bar for both downloads and uploads at the same time.
The three “worst performing providers” were then identified as Vodafone (mobile broadband), Three (mobile home broadband) and EE (mobile home broadband), where many of their customers failed to reach the USO thresholds. But take note that where you position a mobile broadband router can have a huge impact on signal reception.
Meanwhile, the worst-performing fixed line broadband ISP was named as EE, where 28% of their customers failed to meet the overall USO requirements.
Which customers are receiving the slowest broadband speed?
| Rank | Provider | % below 10Mb down | % below 1Mb up | % USO fail |
| 1 | Vodafone Mobile Broadband | 34.1% | 15.5% | 38.6% |
| 2 | Three UK Mobile Home Broadband | 28.8% | 24.0% | 37.7% |
| 3 | EE Mobile Home Broadband | 25.8% | 20.8% | 31.7% |
| 4 | EE | 24.3% | 21.3% | 27.8% |
| 5 | Plusnet | 20.5% | 22.3% | 25.3% |
| 6 | TalkTalk | 20.6% | 19.4% | 24.3% |
| 7 | BT | 15.1% | 14.8% | 18.2% |
| 8 | Sky Broadband | 9.7% | 8.9% | 13.5% |
| 9 | iDNET | 12.0% | 6.0% | 12.0% |
| 10 | Airband | 9.7% | 6.5% | 11.1% |
Which customers receive the fastest broadband speed?
| Rank | Provider | % below 10Mb down | % below 1Mb up | % USO fail |
| 1 | Zzoomm | 0.9% | 0.0% | 0.9% |
| 2 | Hey! Broadband | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.9% |
| 3 | Onestream | 1.1% | 0.0% | 1.1% |
| 4 | toob | 1.7% | 1.0% | 1.8% |
| 5 | Squirrel Internet | 1.8% | 1.8% | 1.8% |
| 6 | Trooli | 2.6% | 0.7% | 2.6% |
| 7 | YouFibre | 2.6% | 1.7% | 3.6% |
| 8 | CommunityFibre | 3.7% | 0.8% | 3.8% |
| 9 | Truespeed | 3.8% | 0.0% | 3.8% |
| 10 | Fibrus | 4.2% | 0.9% | 4.2% |
The big catch here is that web-based broadband speed testing has its limits and can be affected by various issues, such as slow Wi-Fi, limitations of the tester itself, restrictions of the device being used, local network congestion and package choice (a lot of people will pick a slower and cheaper plan, even with 1Gbps available). Equally, some older ISPs will have a larger base of slower copper line customers, which will drag down the figures.
The results above thus don’t provide enough context about each individual test to say for sure that those falling below the USO level are actually unable to attain faster speeds on their current service. Equally, such testing can be more a reflection of take-up, rather than underlying network availability (not everybody takes the fastest ISP/network/package as soon as it arrives).