The average broadband speed currently available to UK consumers is 3.8Mb, according to a new study.

Network data firm Akamai has ranked the UK at 27th in the global download speeds charts, four places down on the 23rd place it achieved during the first quarter of 2010.

On a global basis, the mean broadband speed is reported to be 1.7Mb, but some Asian countries such as South Korea (12Mb), Hong Kong (9Mb) and Japan (7.8Mb) offer speeds vastly in excess of this level.

For UK consumers, the study results may come as a disappointment, not only in terms of the gap between Britain and the world broadband leaders, but also in light of a similar report published by Ofcom earlier this week.

The UK communications regulator claimed UK consumers are currently able to access average download speeds of 5.2Mb, some 1.4Mb faster than the Akamai finding for quarter two 2010.

Consumers looking to sign up for new broadband deals will no doubt hope the Ofcom study presents the UK web infrastructure in a more accurate light than this latest report.