As BT announces a delay in plans for the digital switchover which aims to move customers away from traditional copper lines, new research by Hub26 has revealed which areas of the have the lowest average broadband speeds.

Orkney and Shetland was the constituency with the lowest average broadband speeds in the UK with an average of 48Mbps.

Na h-Eileanan an Iar had the lowest availability of the super-fast speed with just 5.5% of properties capable of receiving it. This was followed closely by Orkney and Shetland with 8.8%.

As well as appearing in the bottom 5 for both gigabit availability and average speeds, Argyll and Bute also had the highest amount of properties which received speeds below Ofcoms ‘Universal Service Obligation’. This means a minimum download speed of 10Mbps and a minimum upload speed of 1Mbps.

A woman is working at home using a modem router, connecting the Internet to her laptop.

At a sub constituency level, 21.5% of properties on the Isles of Mull, Iona, Coll and Tiree collectively fell into this category. All areas which form part of the Argyll and Bute constituency.

Daniel Potticary, managing director of Hub26, the company which carried out the analysis shared his concerns about the findings.

“With more people consistently working from home, or working on hybrid arrangements, fast and reliable broadband is more important than ever before. As the research shows however, providers are still struggling to reach some areas of the country and not just in rural areas.”

“If the UK wants to have an effective digital workforce, we have to ensure that the right infrastructure is in place so that we no longer see any areas of the country failing to meet the minimum speeds obligations set by Ofcom.”

Scottish constituencies found to have the slowest average broadband speeds in the UK