Revealed: London's best spots for speedy broadband

Londoners in need of fast internet to support their Netflix habit may want to consider a move to Kingston upon Thames after the area was revealed as having the fastest download speed in the capital.

The south-west area of London has been awarded the top spot in a new report by BroadbandChoices after it was revealed is operates with an average of 61.6 megabits per second.

It was closely followed by Richmond upon Thames, with an average speed of 61.4Mbps, while Sutton came third with 59.8Mbps.

Surprisingly, the slowest download speed of all was found in City of London – with a poor 15.1Mbps.

The next worst off boroughs were Westminster (23.7Mbps) and Tower Hamlets (26.9Mbps).

Vix Leyton, home comms expert at BroadbandChoices, said: “While many UK councils have plans to improve connectivity for their residents, few have met their targets.

“It’s surprising to see how the capital differs across the boroughs and that the City of London actually has one of the slowest broadband speeds.

Mr Leyton said that slow broadband can be detrimental to businesses.

He added: “The lack of superfast broadband has an impact on productivity and communication, which is a real concern, especially if it translates into a loss for small businesses and communities. Councils need to do more to improve connectivity and make it a priority for their areas.”

The report revealed that only seven councils in the UK have met the targets for broadband speeds they set themselves, suggesting that a number of UK councils have failed to make superfast broadband a priority.

Surprisingly, 122 councils have information about plans to extend broadband penetration on their websites, but exact details regarding reach and performance are not available.

BroadbandChoices research found vague claims in an unquantifiable format or without a specific target date for completing the work.

Meanwhile, many other councils failed to even reference broadband on their websites.

Lots of things can impact the strength of a wireless broadband signal such as walls, doors and even interference from things like baby monitors.

Moving the router and positioning it high up, on top of a bookshelf, for example, may help.

Investing in a Powerline adapter that uses the electricity power lines in the home to boost signal from room to room may also be worth considering.

The company advises switching to another provider as the best solution if all else fails.