Millions of homes in the UK have slower broadband than the 20Mbps average available at London Underground stations
- The Bakerloo line has the fastest wifi as an average across all of its stations
- Edgware Road is the station with the fastest wifi with speeds up to 50Mbps
- Over 4.4 million UK homes have broadband speeds of less than 9Mbps
Millions of homes across the UK have slower broadband than the 20Mbps average speeds available at London Underground stations, a new study finds.
More than four million UK households have slower broadband than the London Underground, according to new research.
Data collected by Uswitch.com found that more than four million UK households have slower internet than commuters get while waiting for the next tube train.
The average speed available to commuters is 19.8Mbps, compared to an average of around 8.8Mbps for more than 4.4 million homes.
USwitch have worked with Transport for London to create a ‘wifi tube map’ showing the average speed available in each station on the network
According to the research, the Bakerloo line was the fastest, with average speeds of 24Mbps available to commuters waiting on the platform.
Uswitch.com analysed the wifi speeds across all 99 station platforms in Zone 1 of the underground network and found 30 would be classed as having ‘superfast’ speeds.
‘Overall, 30 of the 99 station platforms tested would qualify as having superfast fibre broadband because they have speeds of over 24Mbps,’ Uswitch said.
It isn’t an equal playing field when it comes to tube stations, while the Bakerloo is racing along – the District line had the slowest average speed of just 5.58Mbps.
Those keen on streaming content while out in London should head to Edgware Road, the report says, where download speeds of 49.7Mbps were recorded.
That is the fastest station, rather than an average across all stations on a particular line and is fast enough to download a one hour TV show in around 48 seconds.
Westminster was named as the slowest station for download speeds, being clocked at 0.9Mbps – the same one hour programme would take around 40 minutes.
The Northern line branch of Embankment station, Charing Cross, Lambeth North and the Circle line branch of Paddington were named as the other fastest stations.
High Street Kensington, Holborn, Glocester Road and Sloane Square were the other slowest stations.
Nick Baker, broadband expert at Uswitch.com, said: ‘It is amazing that the oldest underground network in the world can provide its users with the means to stay connected and download their favourite programmes whilst travelling.
‘If you’re looking to stay up to date with the latest season of The Witcher, you can head over to the Bakerloo line and have it downloaded in no time.
‘But the fact that the current WiFi on the tube offers faster connections than 30% of broadband-connected homes in the UK receive, just goes to show the extent of the digital divide across the country.’
According to the research, the Bakerloo line was the fastest, with average speeds of 24Mbps available to commuters waiting on the platform
The Government has pledged to bring gigabit-speed broadband to every home and business in the UK by 2025, with a £5 billion investment for the scheme expected to be announced in this week’s Budget.
The wifi networks used to provide broadband internet on the tube could be superseded in future as 4G mobile masts are due to be installed later this month.
The Jubilee Line will get 4G first and it will extend to all platforms and tunnels int he eastern half.
‘This is a really important step for the millions of people who use the Tube each year,’ London Mayor Sadiq Khan told the BBC.
‘Introducing 4G and, in the future, 5G, will help Londoners and visitors keep in touch and get the latest travel information while on the go.’