Ofcom touts average UK broadband speed of 9Mbit/s

The average broadband connection speed in the UK has reached 9Mbit/s, according to new data from Ofcom, although this is still a long way behind leading nations such as South Korea and Japan.

The media regulator found that the average had increased from 7.6Mbit/s since November 2011 in its latest research, and was more than double the average speed achieved in November 2008 of 3.6Mbit/s when it first started collating data on average speeds.

The organisation attributed the rise to an increased use of superfast services from the likes of Virgin Media and BT as helping boost the average, as well as upgrades offered by the firms as part of planned network improvements.

The research, conducted in partnership with SamKnows, also found Virgin Media customers tend to experience the closest services to what they are promised by the firm, with its "up to 100Mbit/s" service offering an average of 88.3Mbit/s over a 24-hour period.

This compared favourably to BT's Infinity's "up to 76Mbit/s" service, which averaged at 58.5Mbit/s, while Virgin Media's "up to 60Mbit/s" averaged 55.9Mbit/s and its 30Mbit/s actually over-delivered with an 30.1Mbit/s average.

Nevertheless, Ofcom chief executive Ed Richards said the figures proved there was a discernible improvement in the state of the broadband market in the UK, although he warned the regulator would not stop with its efforts in ensuring marketing for broadband services is more accurate.

"Our research shows the move to faster broadband services is gathering momentum. Consumers are benefitting from network upgrades and the launch of new superfast packages, giving them faster speeds and greater choice," he said.

"We are continuing to work with the advertising code-writing bodies and ISPs to ensure that speeds advertised reflect actual speeds experienced, to allow consumers the ability to make informed decisions when shopping around to find the most suitable package."