Britain claims Europe’s best broadband – Official figures claim Britain now has the best broadband of the five major European nations.
Ongoing denial by Ofcom in terms of the experience of rural areas arises very clearly when one considers the approach set out in this article which tells us:
Ofcom, the communications regulator, said its latest European Broadband Scorecard puts Britain in the lead for coverage, take-up and choice of services, while also “performing well” on price.
It claims, however, that comparable figures for connection speed are not available across Europe, but places Britain’s average broadband speed at 17.8Mbps. Global internet data specialists Akamai measure it at just 9.1Mbps, but nonetheless place Britain first among Europe’s big five nations and ninth in Europe overall.
Ofcom’s report finds that the availability of superfast broadband has increased in the UK from around 60 per cent at the end of 2011 to 73 per cent today, taking the country from third to first for coverage when measured against France, Germany, Italy and Spain.
The data comes just days after German Chancellor Angela Merkel attempted to mock Britain’s programme. David Cameron, the Prime Minister, had travelled to Hanover to promote Britain’s relationship with Germany, but found himself on the receiving end of a joke from Mrs Merkel, who wanted to know when Britain would finally complete the roll-out of high-speed broadband to every house in the country.