The quality of the UK's network infrastructure is insufficient to deliver a consistent, quality experience for common web applications, according to global research conducted by Cisco.

The Broadband Quality Score evaluated over eight million broadband speed tests, recording speed in both directions, along with latency, network oversubscription and packet loss.

The researchers then considered the quality requirements of current applications, such as web browsing, social networking and enterprise-class home offices, and decided on a broadband quality score.

Japan, Sweden and the Netherlands led the way with the highest scores, but the UK fell just below the threshold.

"The study found significant correlations between a nation's broadband quality and its advancement as a knowledge economy," said Alastair Nicholson, of the Saïd Business School at Oxford University.

"Policy makers may need to consider how to create an environment to improve key broadband performance parameters in the future."

Fernando Gil de Bernabé, managing director of Cisco's Internet Business Solutions Group, added that, without the high-quality broadband necessary to provide a good experience for web apps now and in the future, users will not be able to work as productively and collaboratively as they might.