Uswitch reveals that Wistaston Road in Crewe has the slowest broadband in the UK
Wistaston Road in Crewe, Cheshire, is crowned the UK’s slowest street for broadband — with average download speeds of 0.24Mbps[1]
This is 3,567 times slower than Haul Fryn in Birchgrove, Swansea, which boasts average speeds of 882Mbps[2]
Last year the fastest street only reached 639Mbps, highlighting the growth in ultrafast broadband across the UK[3], with average speeds up 10% in a year[4]
Residents in nine of the ten slowest streets in the UK could upgrade their service to get superfast broadband of at least 30Mbps[5]
It would take the residents of Wistaston Road more than 48 hours to download a two-hour HD film, compared to 47 seconds for the people living in Haul Fryn[6]
Uswitch.com urges frustrated consumers to check what speeds they are getting and see whether faster broadband is available.
The slowest street for broadband in the UK, with an average download speed of 0.24Mbps, is Wistaston Road, Crewe in Cheshire[1], according to analysis of 276,083 consumer speed tests collated by Uswitch.com, the comparison and switching service.
Sluggish broadband in Wistaston Road is a staggering 3,567 times slower than the UK’s fastest street, Haul Fryn in Birchgrove, Swansea, where average download speeds reached 882Mbps over the past year[2].
Haul Fryn is 243Mbps quicker than last year’s fastest street[3], showing the improvements in ultrafast broadband infrastructure across the UK with the rollout of full fibre broadband[7].
Image: The UK’s fastest and slowest streets
Source: Uswitch.com
For the unfortunate residents of Wistaston Road suffering slow speeds, it would take more than 48 hours to download a two-hour HD film. By contrast, the people of Haul Fryn could download the same film in just 47 seconds[6].
The good news is that the number of broadband users enjoying faster speeds is growing. Two fifths of users (43%) now get superfast speeds of more than 30Mbps, which is almost double than those of (22%) six years ago[8]. But despite the fact that superfast broadband is available to 96% of the country, and ultrafast to 62%[4], a recent Uswitch survey found that four in ten (40%) are unaware they can access it in their local area[9].
Residents in nine of the ten slowest streets[5] could actually have access to a quicker service, suggesting that consumers who are willing to pay for faster speeds are being deprived of better broadband because they aren’t aware they could change to a faster alternative.
The slowest and fastest UK streets have been revealed through the analysis of 276,083 speed tests run by broadband users over the last year. The number of speed tests is up 124% on 2019’s tally of 122,845, with the dramatic rise suggesting that consumers have been paying closer attention to the performance of their home broadband since the start of the pandemic[3].
Ernest Doku, broadband expert at Uswitch.com, says: “Britain’s broadband keeps getting quicker every year, but parts of the country continue to be left behind.
“Residents of this year’s fastest street, Haul Fryn, could download a film in 47 seconds - where it would take those living in Wistaston Road more than 48 hours to do the same thing.
“At a time when so many of us rely on our broadband for work, streaming films and TV, and gaming, it’s hard to imagine how frustrating such a slow connection must be.
“It’s great to witness the increased uptake of ultrafast broadband, but we don’t want to see large swathes of the country left behind on shoddy connections that aren’t cutting it for modern life.
“Initiatives like the Universal Service Obligation and Project Gigabit are helping improve connections at both ends of the spectrum, but there is a lot more to be done so consumers don’t get left behind.
“Of the ten slowest streets, nine could have access to faster broadband, so we urge residents there — and anyone else unhappy with their broadband speeds — to do a quick search online to see what speeds they could be getting with another provider.”
Anyone frustrated with their broadband service can test what speed they’re getting at www.uswitch.com/broadband/speedtest
Notes to editors
Broadband users ran a total of 276,083 consumer speed tests during the 12-month period from 1st October 2020 to 30th September 2021 inclusive, using Uswitch.com’s free speed testing tool.
We took the slowest and fastest postcodes from the 276,083 speed tests within 54,665 postcodes. In order for a street to qualify for inclusion in the top or bottom ten, tests from at least three unique IP addresses and at least ten residential properties were required at a postcode. Superfast is defined as speeds faster than 30Mbps, and ultrafast as quicker than 100Mbps.
1. See tables of UK’s ten slowest and ten fastest streets for broadband
2. Fastest street in the UK is Haul Fryn (882Mbps) and the slowest street is Wistaston Road (CW2 7RJ) (0.24Mbps). Calculation: 882/0.24 = 3,675
3. Uswitch: The UK streets with the slowest broadband speed
4. Ofcom Connection Nations 2021
5. Out of the UK’s ten slowest streets nine of them have access to either superfast or ultrafast (fibre to the premises (FTTP)) broadband (90%)
6. Calculated using this online tool: https://www.download-time.com File sizes: average HD film on iTunes is 4.84GB
7. UK Government: Building Digital UK
8. Based on 1,030,865 consumers’ tests taken during the six-month period Aug 2014-Feb 2015. More details can be found here.
9. Uswitch.com surveyed a sample of 3,000 UK adults (aged 18+) from 18th to 23rd September 2020. Results have been weighted to nationally representative criteria. Respondents were asked: ‘Do you know if it is possible to get superfast broadband in your postcode?’ The net response for ‘yes’ was 60%
10. Uswitch.com analysis of speed data.
About Uswitch
Uswitch is one of the UK’s top comparison websites for home services switching, including broadband, mobiles, SIM Only and insurance. We’ve saved consumers over £2.5 billion off their bills since we launched in September 2000.
In 2022, Uswitch launched its free mobile app, Utrack, to help consumers manage their home energy costs. By connecting to their smart meter, users can track their energy usage hourly, get dynamic insights and calculate potential savings with handy tips.
Uswitch is part of RVU, a global group of online brands with a mission to empower consumers to make more confident home services, insurance and financial decisions.