UK slips down the broadband league table

Two-hundred countries have been tested for broadband speed and while the UK’s speed has actually increased over the past year, and is still above the global average at 18.57Mbps, that still hasn’t prevented the UK dropping four places from 31st – placing the country in the bottom third of EU member states.

Not only that but experts have predicted that the UK could drop even further as the planned move towards full-fibre over the next decade means the UK has come to the party a little too late.

Once again Singapore took first place, with a vibrant digital economy and diminutive landmass offering the country significant advantages when it comes to infrastructural development and FTTP (pure fibre) availability. The Nordic nations also fared well with Sweden, Norway and Denmark all featuring in the top five.

Sweden’s decision to focus on FTTP means around 60% of Swedish homes and businesses now have access to speeds of up to 1Gbps (1,000Mbps). FTTP (pure fibre) connections are available to more than half of Danish homes and businesses, providing extremely fast speeds and excellent future-proofing. In Norway FTTP is available to over 40% of its population, so it’s clear that countries with a focus on FTTP are pulling ahead.

And interactive map of the worldwide broadband speed league 2018 can be viewed here.

As you can see, the top of the table is dominated by Europe. Of the top 50 countries, 36 of them are in Europe. With the UK only just commencing to roll-out FTTP, and with a number of other European countries already a long way ahead of the UK in this regard, it is likely it will slip more positions when these measurements are taken next year, and that those ahead of the UK will increase their lead.

You can view the league table here.