Wales constituencies among top 10 with slowest download speeds

Figures from the House of Commons library have shown that seven out of 10 of the council wards with the slowest download speeds are in Wales.

The top 10 list ordered by wards and constituency with download speeds in megabits per second included: Abererch, Dwyfor Meirionnydd - 2.7; Llandinam, Montgomeryshire - 3.1; Devauden, Monmouth - 3.1; Trelech, Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire - 3.8; Bratton Fleming, North Devon - 4.1; Yscir, Brecon and Radnorshire - 4.2; Llanfihangel Aberbythych, Carmarthen East and Dinefwr - 4.2; Beguildy, Brecon and Radnorshire - 4.3; Stort Valley, Saffron Walden - 4.3; and Teme Valley, West Worcestershire - 4.3.

MP Liz Saville Roberts of Dwyfor Meirionnydd constituency commented: “It's shocking that out of the 10 worst performing areas for broadband speeds, seven are in Wales.

"Many of my constituents are unable to access what Ofcom recognises as the speed necessary to deliver an 'acceptable user experience', required for basic tasks such as web browsing, streaming and video calling.

"What we need in Wales is parity of access to the country's telecoms infrastructure. I hope the separation of BT from Openreach will signal an end to the monopoly in broadband provision, which has so far failed to meet the specific needs of many rural communities."

Responding to the report, a spokesman for BT, said: What this report does highlight to us is that more families and businesses now need to make the most of this new technology and upgrade their services if they want faster internet speeds.

"For small parts of Wales we appreciate that upgrading isn't currently possible but we continue to work hard to roll out fibre broadband across the country."