Broadband Genie analysed over 144,000 consumer speed tests, revealing that millions of UK households still struggle with internet speeds below the government's minimum standard of 10Mbps. Downloading a full HD movie at 10Mbps takes over 40 minutes, compared to just 5 minutes at 100Mbps.
Worst Performing Providers
Mobile broadband users, relying on 4G or 5G rather than fixed-line cables, are most likely to experience slow speeds. Vodafone Mobile Broadband ranked bottom with 34.1% of customers failing to reach 10Mbps. Three Home Broadband followed at 28.8%, and EE Mobile Home Broadband at 25.8%.
Among traditional fixed-line providers, EE recorded the weakest performance: 24.3% of customers below 10Mbps and 21% below the 1Mbps upload minimum. EE was followed by TalkTalk (20.6%), Plusnet (20.5%), and BT (15.1%).
Full List of Providers Below 10Mbps
- Vodafone Mobile Broadband – 34.1%
- Three Home Broadband – 28.8%
- EE Mobile Home Broadband – 25.8%
- EE – 24.3%
- TalkTalk – 20.6%
- Plusnet – 20.5%
- BT – 15.1%
- IDNet – 12.0%
- Sky – 9.7%
- Airband – 9.7%
Best Performing Providers
The top performers were smaller alternative networks (alt-nets): Zzoomm, Hey! Broadband, Onestream, toob, and Squirrel, all with fewer than 2% of customers below the 10Mbps threshold.
Broadband Genie strategist Alex Tofts commented: "It's unbelievable so many customers aren't receiving what the government deems a 'decent' broadband speed. This is a low bar for providers to clear, but somehow they're still failing customers. No customer should have to put up with sluggish broadband, but many factors outside your provider's control can influence broadband speed. If you find your connection is consistently below what you were promised, report it to your provider. If there is an issue on the network, and your provider can't fix it, you can leave your contract penalty-free if they're signed up to Ofcom's Speed Code of Practice."
