Broadband makes the world go round whether we like it or not in 2024. Millions of us rely every day on a stable internet connection at home to work, play games, surf the web, stay in touch with loved ones and stream TV. It can be frustrating when the connection is slow, and now a new study has revealed which town in Britain has the slowest broadband speeds.

UK comparison site Broadband Genie has crunched the numbers and ranked 71 towns up and down the country according to internet speed. They found that Canterbury has the worst speeds with an average of just 22Mbps (that’s ‘megabits per second’) across the city.

That pales in comparison to the zippiest town in the land Lichfield, with the Staffordshire town’s population reportedly enjoying average broadband speeds of 359Mbps.

Broadband Genie said it would take someone in Lichfield three and a half minutes to download a 9.25GB version of the hit film Dune: Part Two, whereas on the average connection in Canterbury it would take nearly an hour.

Newry in Northern Ireland came in second but with notably slower speeds of 138Mbps, while capital London languished in 38th with a pitiful 57Mbps score. Ely, Dundee and Lisburn rounded off the top five fastest towns.

“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.

“Speed tests are a useful tool for regularly monitoring the performance you are receiving. If they are falling short of what has been promised, contact your provider and raise the issue.”

The iffy speeds in Canterbury were described by the company as “the bare minimum” you can expect from so-called “superfast” broadband services.

The results were gathered after speed tests in more than 149,000 homes across the 71 cities were conducted. Second slowest after Canterbury was Ripon, followed by Perth, Norwich and Winchester.

“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,” Tofts said. “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.”

Here are the ten fastest towns in the UK for broadband speeds. The number represents Mbps:

1. Lichfield - 359
2. Newry - 138
3. Ely - 118
4. Dundee - 100
5. Lisburn - 99
6. Oxford - 94
7. Stoke-on-trent - 91
8. Cambridge - 85
9. Bangor - 83
10. Liverpool - 81

And here are the ten slowest:

1. Canterbury - 22
2. Ripon - 28
3. Perth - 37
4. Norwich - 38
5. Winchester - 40
6. Birmingham - 41
7. Aberdeen - 42
8. York - 43
9. Chester - 44
10. Exeter - 45