UK's slowest mobile towns mapped
6 April 2011 Last updated at 12:28 GMT
Milton Keynes has slowest mobile broadband speeds according to the data
People living in Milton Keynes get the slowest 3G mobile broadband speed in the UK, according to new research.
The average speed for mobile broadband in the Buckinghamshire town was 1.73Mbps (megabits per second), compared to 3.6Mbps in Peterborough, the fastest town.
Mobile speeds are increasingly crucial to users as smartphones become ubiquitous.
The data was compiled by broadband comparison website Top10.com.
It analysed thousands of 3G speed tests carried out by users of its Streetstats 3G app. The app is only available for the iPhone, meaning the data only looks at speeds available via Apple's handsets.
At 1.73Mbps it would take up to 10 seconds to load a webpage and over two minutes to download an app such as the popular Angry Birds game.
Disparity
Birmingham, Liverpool and Cardiff also featured in the slowest 10 towns, according to its research.
Alex Buttle, director of Top10 said: "There's clearly a disparity when it comes to 3G connectivity across the UK. Despite efforts by the government and mobile operators to increase the speed of 3G services, there is evidently still a long way to go."
The fastest UK town according to the data was Peterborough with an average of 3.86Mbps. It was followed by Carlisle (3.5Mbps), Eastbourne (3.47Mbps) and Stoke (3.35Mbps).
Other towns in the top 10 included York, Dundee, Brighton, Derby and Reading - all offering speeds over 3Mbps.
UK regulator Ofcom is conducting its own research into mobile broadband speeds. The results are due later this month.
Next year the government is auctioning off spectrum which will allow mobile operators to introduce faster, 4G services.
TEN SLOWEST TOWNS FOR 3G
- Milton Keynes - 1.73Mbps
- Leicester - 2.01Mbps
- Huddersfield - 2.17Mbps
- Cardiff - 2.18Mbps
- Liverpool - 2.21Mbps
- Blackburn - 2.23Mbps
- Stevenage - 2.23Mbps
- Hull - 2.35Mbps
- Stafford - 2.37Mbps
- Birmingham - 2.43Mbps
Credit: BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)
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