Survey Maps Broadband Speed By Constituencies

Those living in Labour-controlled constituencies are more like to have faster broadband, according to new research.

Broadband news website ThinkBroadband has put together a map that details each constituency in the UK and the speeds of broadband that can be obtained there.

The top 30 constituencies are areas where 90% of more of premise has speeds reaching 30Mbps or higher and 16 of these belong to Labour.

Meanwhile, 17 of the bottom 30 constituencies – where half or fewer premise have superfast broadband – are Conservative areas.

The Liberal Democrats on the other hand have a relatively similar number of constituencies at each end – five in the top 30 and eight in the bottom 30.

According to ThinkBroadband founder Andrew Ferguson, the reason behind these results may be because Labour tend to hold more urban seats while the Conservative have more rural seats.

However, Ferguson also claims that local MPs can have a significant impact on superfast broadband provision in their area.

“What individual politicians can do and should ensure is that those in their constituency are not placed at a significant disadvantage, this could be through ensuring a local authority project covers an area through to ensuring that alternate operators have minimal hurdles to overcome to provide much needed service,” he claimed.

Sharp Contrasts Between Adjoining Areas

The map also highlights sharp differences between various constituencies, despite their close proximities.

For example, although Camarthen West and Camarthen East are right next door to each other, 33% of premise have superfast broadband in the former compared to 9.5% the latter.

“The UK telecoms market is amazingly diverse and it is impossible to credit any one single political party for the success or otherwise with respect to what services are available as the current situation is the result of some 30 years of regulation,” Ferguson told the BBC.

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